Uninvolved
by Maki-sama
Summary: Trapped in a world of darkness that parallels his own, Harry struggles to stay sane. Can these strangers help him find his way back home? And how did Voldemort send him here in the first place?
1. Attack in the Garden

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Yu-Gi-Oh.  


* * *

  
The street lamps were out and a dark figure strolled purposely down the street. He stopped at an empty house and entered, making sure to shut the door swiftly behind him. Continuing down a hallway he found the room where the meeting would take place. A shadowy figure sat in an armchair. Voldemort could not see his face, but knew he must be smirking. The power radiating from the figure had nearly engulfed the entire room in a sort of darkness.  
"You got my message, I see," said the figure in a gravelly voice.  
Voldemort nodded his head once, not trusting the strange person. True, he was interested in what the figure had to say, he had promised the dark lord a power unknown to the wizards; A power that would help him to rule the wizarding world with an iron fist. As the dark lord's eyes adjusted to the darkness he realized the figure also wore a hooded cloak, hiding his true identity.  
"I'm interested in this power you spoke of," Voldemort began carefully. "Unfortunately, I do not trust those who hide their identity from me. Who are you; an auror trying to find a way to defeat me?"  
The figure gave a harsh laugh. "I do not follow your wizard customs, you fool. The power I offer you is from your soul and the deepest Shadows can only be reached by true masters of its craft. I can teach you how to manipulate the Shadows and rid yourself of all your enemies by simply banishing them from this plane of existence." Voldemort's eyes lit with malice.  
"Banish my enemies…" he repeated the being. "What can you teach me?"

Harry sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow with his dirt encrusted hands. Another day spent in Aunt Petunia's garden pulling the weeds she must have left just for him. If there was any form of weed growth he was sure the Dursley's were using it as it seemed everyday held more of the accursed plants. Relief from the Dursley's hatred was short lived this summer. After the Order had spoken to them so harshly at King's Cross they had stayed clear of him. That is, until Dudley had hit him for sneaking the last cookie from the jar and no one had shown up to stop it. Now the Dursley's felt safe to ridicule and force Harry back into constant labor.  
Harry didn't mind the extra work, using it as a means to not linger on his Godfather's sudden departure. Any letters from Ron and Hermione were careful to avoid mentioning the Department of Mysteries and Sirius' death. Harry was grateful for the absence of nagging, but he still felt lonelier than he had since his eleventh birthday when he learned about magic.  
A sudden prickling in his scar was the only warning Harry had before he was pushed out of the way and onto the ground. Disoriented, he stumbled to his feet and looked around the back yard.  
"Harry, get down!" someone shouted and he quickly got back on the ground as a red light flashed over his head.  
"What's going on?" Harry yelled, hoping to find some understanding. A few seconds later he saw the death eater jump out of the bushes with Alastor "mad eye" Moody coming from the opposite end of the yard. The death eater looked around fast and apparated away before Moody could stun him.  
The ex-auror approached Harry and helped him to his feet again. "You okay, kid?" he asked. Harry nodded and tried to brush some of the dirt off his larger t-shirt.  
"I'm fine, sir. Why was that death eater here? What happened to the protection from my aunt?"  
"We'll answer your questions later, Harry," Remus Lupin said as he walked from around the house. "For now we need to get you packed and to head quarters."  
Harry nodded and ran into the house, ignoring his Uncle's angry yells. "Boy, what did you do to the garden?!"  
He smiled as he heard the wizards scold his relatives for their failure to care for him like they wanted. He heard his Uncle stuttering as he crammed old school books and clothing into his trunk. The idea of getting out of Privet Drive was so much a blessing that he didn't think about the reasons why he was leaving so quickly. Hedwig batted her wings against her cage and screeched at him.  
"I'll let you fly to head quarters then, Hedwig," Harry stroked his owl as he opened the cage. "I'm not sure how we plan to arrive." Hedwig flew out of her cage and out the open window. Harry cleaned the cage best he could and carried it plus the trunk downstairs.  
"Ready to go, Harry?" asked Remus. Harry nodded and looked around the downstairs, not seeing his relatives anywhere.  
"Yeah, but how are we going to get to head quarters?"  
Moody put his hand roughly on Harry's shoulder and nodded towards Remus. The werewolf took up his trunk and was gone in a crack. "Hold on tight, kid," Moody said right before he and Harry disappeared.  
Harry decided quickly that he did not enjoy the sensation of apparating and swallowed quickly as they reappeared in the street outside of Grimauld place. With a queasy stomach, Harry walked quickly with Moody as the ex-auror checked the street for enemies. They entered the building and Harry was left in the hallway.  
Not seeing his trunk, Harry walked up the stairs to where he had stayed the summer before in his Godfather's house. He entered the room and saw the luggage in the corner with his bird perched on top of it. She hooted in greeting and he put the cage next to her. "You got here fast, didn't you, Hedwig?"  
"Harry!" shouted a voice behind him and he was quickly engulfed into a hug.  
"Hello, Hermione, Ron."  
"Hey, mate, heard you were attacked by death eaters," Ron said as he shut the door.  
"Oh, yeah, just one, but I'm not sure who it was."  
"Harry! You act like it's nothing to be attacked at your house. Surely you're worried about the protection being breached. Do you know how they found you or what they wanted?"  
"No, I haven't any idea," Harry said and thought about it for a while. "Remus said they'd tell me later."  
"It's time for dinner you three," Mrs. Weasley called from outside the door. Harry smiled and followed his two best friends to the kitchen. It felt like he would be having his first real meal all summer.

Voldemort carefully observed his trembling minions, folding his hands together and resting them under his chin. It seemed the stronger he became at controlling this new power, the more terrified his death eaters were of him. The dark lord smirked at this thought, glad the fools were easier to control now that their fear had grown. The price for his lessons was simple, offer the figure a vessel, someone that he could use to become solid. It hadn't taken the dark lord long to discover his partner was in a spiritual form.  
The man in question was standing in the half circle of death eaters in front of him, pretending to be a lowly minion so no one suspected his newfound abilities. He possessed the body of one of the Goyles distant relatives. The boy was close enough to the family to be considered "dark" and yet not so close as to cause suspicion in the ranks.  
The door opened and the death eater Voldemort had been waiting for quickly entered the room. The woman bowed before him and swiftly went to her place in the line.  
"Celeste," began the dark lord. "You were sent to stun the boy-who-lived and bring him here, were you not?" The woman appeared to tremble even more than her fellow death eaters under the powerful wizard's gaze.  
"Y-yes, my lord, I was."  
"Then where is he? I'm sure he's woken up by now."  
"There were….others there, my lord. People keeping watch on the boy….I-I…."  
"There are no excuses for your failure, crucio!" The woman fell to the floor as though she was having a seizure. She screamed, her voice cracking as it reached to decibels some of the death eaters cringed at hearing. Luckily, the dark lord didn't keep her under the curse for long.  
"You three," Voldemort gestured towards those nearest the end of the semi-circle. "I want you to scout Diagon Alley every day and contact me the moment Harry Potter enters its domain. There will be severe punishment for failure. Now, leave!" The death eaters all bowed before him individually while trying to be the first to leave. The scattered out of the room quickly, with Celeste being the last as she limped out the door; it slammed shut.  
"Well, well, well," his partner spoke up and stood before him. "Quite a group you have there."  
"Yes," said the dark lord. "It's a shame you have yet to meet our more elite members."

* * *

That's it for the first chapter. The Yu-Gi-Oh gang will start appearing in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
-Maki-sama-


	2. Shadow Game

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Yu-Gi-Oh.

Reminders:  
_-Hikari to Yami-_(Same for both Ryou and Yugi unless stated otherwise)  
_/Yami to Hikari/_  
_general thoughts_  


* * *

  
"Our book lists arrived this morning," said Hermione as her two best friends entered the library. Harry sat next to her waiting for Ron to pull out the chess board. "Mrs. Weasley said we would be shopping for supplies later this afternoon."

"What?" asked Ron, "Are they daft? You-Know-Who's already tried to kill Harry once this summer, what's to stop him in Diagon Alley?"

"Voldemort's death eater tried to kill me," said Harry. "Too bad he wasn't there, then maybe I'd feel safer about this school year starting. He has tried then, but not during the summer before."

Hermione sighed and put her book down. "Harry, you really don't mean that, do you?"

"Of course not, Hermione," said Harry. "I just want a break from all of this," he ran his hands through his hair and clenched his fist. "If I had only studied occlumency better, then Sirius wouldn't be gone and I'd be able to ask him about everything going on in my head."

Hermione and Ron glanced at each other before moving closer to their best friend. "Don't blame yourself, Harry," Harry gave her a look. "He wouldn't want you to."  
Harry sighed and nodded, "I know."

"Anyway, mate, we can try and help you figure out what's confusing you," Ron smiled. "Really, Hermione's smart and reads so much she could probably figure anything out."  
"Such confidence…."

Harry laughed and pushed his glasses up, "They still haven't told me, you know. I wish they would just say why the death eaters could find me this summer."

**LALALA**

Not too much farther into the day found the three teenagers standing in the hallway of the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters, waiting for the group to leave for Diagon Alley. Harry checked once more that he had everything he needed for the trip, assuming he wouldn't be able to leave for shopping during the rest of the summer. Harry had made sure to grab his bag of wizarding coins, hoping to fill it a little more for his school year trips to Hogsmeade since he wasn't sure how much books would cost. Ginny, the last person they were waiting for, quickly came down the stairs and joined the group, avoiding an angry stare from her mother.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

Remus cleared his throat and all the kids looked at him. "We are apparating to Diagon Alley. When we get there, Harry and Hermione will be with me. Ginny and Ron will be with Molly."

"Stay together and don't let yourself wander," added Mrs. Weasley. "Tonks and Moody will be around as well in case anything happens. We'll meet at the entrance in two hours time, so if you do get lost, which you won't, go there instantly." Mrs. Weasley looked at her youngest son.

With everything being said, Remus took Harry and Hermione outside and took a hold of their arms. "Don't let go," was their only warning before it felt like they were being sucked through a straw. The appeared with a crack in the alley outside the Leaky Cauldron and Remus quickly pulled them into the pub. Not too long later, Mrs. Weasley entered with her two children and they entered the alley and headed towards the Wizarding Bank.

Harry observed the alley as they walked down the street. Many shops were board up and dark, while the few remaining opened looked nearly empty. A few children were looking out the window of a toy shop; Harry smiled at them as they made eye contact. Not long after their mother rushed them away from the window, looking around suspiciously.  
Upon reaching the gate, Harry decided that it was the only building that looked unscathed. Inside the bank the people were quick with their exchanges and avoided eye contact. He quickly moved out of the way as a nervous witch scurried past him, carrying a bag full of jingling coins.

The goblins were also on edge, suspicious of anyone asking to withdraw from their vaults. Harry wondered if the death eaters would ever try and take over the wizarding bank. The goblins appeared to share his thoughts as he walked up to the counter and was magically screened by their security.

"Name, please," said the angry looking goblin.

"Harry Potter," replied Harry as he handed the goblin his key.

"New protocol states that no one travels to any vault. What do you wish to withdraw from your account?"

"Oh, uhm, I don't know….perhaps 30 galleons?" said Harry, unsure what he would need since he still had some from the last year. The goblin nodded tersely and spoke to another who quickly left the area. A few minutes later Harry was given his bag of galleons and he moved back letting Hermione exchange her muggle money.

"I really ought to start my own vault," said Hermione as she, Harry, and Remus left the bank to start their shopping. "It would be so much easier than exchanging pounds every year."

Every shop the trio entered and left, Remus would look down the Alley and make sure they weren't followed. Harry repeated his actions as well, his former professor's paranoia rubbing off on him.

**LALALA  
**  
They were in the apothecary when the two students were shocked out of their shopping by Remus pulling his wand out and spinning around. Professor Snape stood behind him and had apparently startled the man.

"Severus," began Remus. "What are you doing here, I thought you were…."

"I'm not here on a social call, Lupin," he snapped and pulled the werewolf closer to him. "The death eaters are here," he whispered and eyed Harry. "They know you're here." The dark professor released Remus and swiftly turned around. He left the shop, his cloak flowing behind him.

Remus was quick to grab Harry and Hermione's hands as he began to steer them outside. "We need to get to the meeting place fast. Don't look around or make eye contact with anybody," he said as they walked briskly down the street.

Harry felt Hermione grab hold of his sleeve before he saw what had spooked her. While they had been watching the ground as they walked, shadows had started to enter his line of sight. Harry knew instantly that these weren't normal shadows. They were darker than the darkest night and seemed thick enough to slice in half. He wondered if you could even put your hand through them.

Remus came to a sudden stop as a symphony of cracks was heard around them.

Hermione gasped and Harry looked up to see they were surrounded by death eaters. He tried to look through their masks to find out who they were dealing with, unsure of their magical skills. His wand came out in one fluid movement and he noticed so did Remus and Hermione's.

One death eater stepped forward with a laugh. "You don't stand a chance, Harry," said the cloaked figure. Harry's scar filled with a searing pain and his hand flew to his forehead.  
"Voldemort!"

"That's right," said the man as he removed his hood. "It's been some time since we've last met. Ah, but you see, I've studied hard while waiting for this moment. I hope you've been practicing, Harry, because this is a power you've never seen before!"

Harry readied himself for battle. "I hope you're ready to lose, Voldemort," he said, glaring at the snake-like creature before him. "You know it's not that easy to get rid of me."  
The dark lord laughed again. "Where you're going, you'll wish for death!" Harry stared in confusion and fear as a glowing eye appeared on the dark lord's forehead. "Here are the rules, Harry, whoever disarms their opponent first wins. Begin!"

"Expelliarmus!" they both yelled. Harry knew before his wand left his hand that he had lost. Voldemort had shouted the spell just slightly before him. He tried to grab his wand before it fell from his fingers, but it was too quick. He looked to the dark lord and saw triumph on his enemy's face.

"You've lost, Harry Potter….and you will forever be lost in the shadows."

Harry looked around him as the dark, shadowy clouds he saw earlier began to crawl up his legs, keeping him in place. Hermione screamed as they appeared from behind and gagged his mouth. He struggled and tried to escape the suffocating darkness. He silently screamed, pleading with his eyes for it to end as pain erupted in his whole body. It felt like his very soul was being ripped out of him. Blood fell from the scar on his forehead and his body fell to the ground, soulless.

"Everyone, go back to the head quarters," snapped Voldemort as Aurors began appearing all around the alley. He took one more look at his fallen foe and then disapparated.

"Come on," said Remus as he picked Harry up. "We need to get out of here." He and Hermione made a quick escape, hoping none of the surrounding witches or wizards saw the fallen boy-who-lived, blood trickling down his face and eyes staring vacantly forward.

**LALALA**

Remus put Harry on his bed at head quarters, carefully making sure he was lying comfortably. Hermione was silently crying as she helped to tuck him into the bed. "What's wrong with him, Professor?"

"I don't know, Hermione," Remus took off the unconscious boy's glasses and placed them on the night stand, "I've never seen any magic like the magic you-know-who used on him."

Mrs. Weasley ran into the room followed closely by her two youngest children. "I got your patronus, Remus, what happened?" Mrs. Weasley cried out as she noticed the unconscious Harry. "How did this happen?!"

Ron and Ginny went by Hermione and looked at their friend in shock.

"It was you-know-who, Molly. He used some sort of magic. I've never seen it before."

"The shadows surrounded him, Mrs. Weasley. He couldn't escape them and we couldn't get any closer to him. The next moment he was falling to the ground, unconscious." Hermione sat down in a chair and rubbed her eyes. "Do you think he's okay?"

Mrs. Weasley and Remus looked at each other. "We need to call in Madam Pomphrey, I think," said Remus. "And call Dumbledore, he'll want to know."

"But he'll wake up, right?" asked Ron, worriedly. The adults looked at each other gravely.

"We have no idea, Ron."

**LALALA**

Harry moaned and opened his eyes. It felt like his energy was being drained very slowly and he still had a head ache from his run-in with Voldemort. His stomach was queasy as the world felt like it was spinning and he couldn't stand to stare at the purple sky. _Wait. Purple sky?_

Harry slowly pushed himself up and looked at his surroundings. Next to him was a tall pole and it looked like he was in a quidditch pitch. Looking around a little more, he realized he was in a quidditch pitch. The same field that was at Hogwarts to be exact, the castle was even looming over him from the right.

"When did I get to Hogwarts," wondered Harry aloud. He continued to look around him, still confused about the purple and black sky.

Deciding that he had rested enough, Harry stood up and brushed off his pant legs. He started walking towards the castle, hoping there would be some answers inside.

**LALALA**

Many miles away, in Domino, Japan slept a white haired teenager. On a table sat a gold ring necklace on a leather band. The ring flashed once and a spirit appeared, sitting next to the albino.

"Ryou," said the apparition as he leaned over his look alike, "Wake up!"

The boy jumped awake and looked around him, reaching for the ring resting on the bedside table. When he saw the spirit he sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just you Bakura."  
Bakura nodded, but seemed lost in another world. "What's wrong," asked Ryou.

"There's something wrong in the Shadow Realm," said the spirit. Ryou looked surprised and sat up in his bed.

"Something is wrong in the Shadow Realm? What could be wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," was his answer, "But I need to visit the Pharaoh tomorrow."

Ryou nodded and looked at the clock. It was currently 3 am, "I'll call Yugi in the morning."

Bakura nodded and disappeared, back into the ring he came from. /_Go back to sleep, hikari, we'll discuss this later./_

* * *

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! My goal for this fic is to update at least every two weeks. It may take closer to two weeks once the school year starts, but I'll let you know if the interval between updates will change.

I hope this is space out better for you, I'm sorry to say I accidentally forgot to space the first chapter out for you guys. See you next update!

-Maki-sama-


	3. A Day in the Shadow Realm

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Yu-Gi-Oh.

Reminders:  
_-Hikari to Yami-  
/Yami to Hikari/_(these will change next chapter since Ryou and Yugi will be together)  
'thoughts'

* * *

Harry never knew it took so long to reach Hogwarts castle from the quidditch pitch, he felt like he had been walking forever. Stopping for another short break, Harry took in his surroundings. He was nearly to the front steps and was standing by a tree. Judging by the tree's branches he would say it was around spring time, even though Harry knew it was mid-summer. As he looked at the buds on the tree he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye near the lake.

A middle-aged man was walking around, staring around himself in what appeared to be confusion and horror. Harry, deciding it was best to find out who this man was, since he didn't seem to notice the castle, ran over to him. Oddly it took a shorter amount of time to get to the lake edge than normal, a fact that didn't escape Harry's notice.

"Sir!" he shouted as he ran next to the gentleman. "Oi, sir! What are you doing here?"

The man looked around him frantically, as though trying to figure out where Harry was standing. "Wh-who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Harry," said the wizard. Harry took in the man's frightened appearance. He was balding slightly, making Harry think of Mr. Weasley and wondering where his friends where. His hair was a dark brown and there was sweat collecting and dripping down his forehead to his chin. He appeared to wear a security uniform, though it could have been a police officer's uniform, Harry wasn't sure.

Once again the man searched for the source of Harry's voice and starting backing up towards the lake's edge. "Sir, you're going to fall into the lake if you---"

Harry faltered as the man took a step into the water, only his foot didn't enter the lake, instead it stood on top of the water as though it was solid ground. Harry put his own foot into the lake and jumped back as his fell into the weed infested water instantly.

'How on earth is he walking on water?_'_ wondered Harry as he looked at the man who had finally stopped retreating over the water's surface. He seemed slightly calmer now, like a danger had passed. Harry wondered for a brief moment if he was glad that the wizard had stopped trying to talk to him. However, the relief was short lived as a monstrous roar broke through the silence that Harry had failed to notice. The man jumped and screamed, trying, once again, to locate the sound he heard. Harry looked around frantically before he saw a giant bug-like creature.

**LALALA**

Yugi Mutou turned the sign to "open" on the Kame Game Shop's door, yawning as he did so. The spirit of the Pharaoh had been up all night, causing Yugi to lose the opportunity to get what little amount of sleep he could.

_/I'm very sorry for keeping you up, partner/_ said his Yami through their mind link. Yugi felt a rush of guilt through the link and smiled.

_-Don't worry about it, Yami. I just hope you figure out what's bothering you.-_

Yugi walked to the back of the shop and poured himself a cup of coffee. He picked up a packet of sugar and stirred it into his cup, making sure the liquid cooled before taking a drink. 'This will definitely keep me a wake for a little while,' thought Yugi with a tired smile. The bell from the front of the store rang, signaling the arrival of a customer.

"Be right there!" called Yugi and he carefully walked to the store's counter to avoid spilling any of his life-saving, energy filled coffee. "Welcome to Kame Game Shop, can I help you with anything?"

"Honestly, I can't believe you banished his soul," said the customer, as though he hadn't heard Yugi enter the room. There was a pause after this statement as though he was hearing an answer to his accusation. "That's no reason at all!"

Yugi looked around the desk and smiled brightly. "Ryou! What are you doing here so early in the morning? I'd think you'd be sleeping much later than this!"

The white haired teen blinked and walked towards the counter. "I normally would be asleep, but Bakura wants to talk to Yami and wouldn't let me stay in bed any longer. Of course, he had to send that poor police officer to the Shadow Realm first thing in the morning." Ryou put his hand to his head, indicating that head ache that was forming due to his ranting Yami.

Yugi stared at his friend for a long while. "You're telling me," he began and the white haired boy looked at him expectantly, "that Bakura _wants _to talk to Yami?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" Ryou asked harshly, his features sharpening and hair becoming wilder, almost like horns on his head. "I suppose the Pharaoh has felt the disturbance in the Realm of Shadows as well as it appears neither of you could sleep last night." The thief king looked at the shorter boy's cup of coffee in disgust.

"Oh, hello, Bakura," said Yugi with a smile. He too began to slightly change in appearance. A few of his blonde bangs stood upright and he grew another half a foot. Yami crossed sat in the chair behind him and crosses his arms over his chest. "That does explain quite a bit, tomb robber."

The thief scoffed and leaned on the counter, baring his canines. "You honestly didn't notice the change in energy as a soul was banished? A soul that threw off the balance of the Realm completely because it was too light?" growled Bakura.

The Pharaoh sighed, "What makes you think this soul is there Bakura?"

"Have you not been paying attention to the Shadows, you fool?"

Yami closed his eyes and focused on his magic, the Shadows in the game shop becoming darker and more alive as he did so. He searched through the Realm through his magic, "I don't feel anything, Bakura," he said. Moments later he saw it, the bright soul that was causing the thief to worry about the Shadows. "What is that?" asked Yami as he opened his eyes and let the Shadows return to their realm.

"It's the soul a non-item bearer sent to the Shadow Realm," said Bakura, an air of 'I told you so' in his arrogant voice.

"Who should never have been sent to the Shadows," the Thief and Pharaoh both looked to the back of the shop, where Yugi and his Grandfather's house was. An Egyptian man wearing a turban stood there, holding a pair of scales and with key-like, ankh pendant around his neck. "Much like the man you sent earlier should not have been sent, Thief King."

"Shadi," Yami said, walking towards the kitchen area where the Egyptian stood. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong with the items?"

"No, Pharaoh, I only come to bring you news of the items," Shadi said, his eyes observing both Yami and Bakura. "A new bearer has come forth, and you two must find him."

"Pfft," snorted Bakura, "New bearer? Honestly, Shadi, which item will he be using?"

Yami nodded, "I was positive all the items have chosen someone." The Pharaoh began counting off Millennium Item holders on his fingers. "I have the puzzle, Bakura has the ring, and you obviously have the scales and key. I gave Isis and Marik their items back when they left for Egypt last month and….wait one moment, who has the Millennium Eye?" Yami looked at Shadi, "Weren't you looking for someone who stole the eye when we first met?"

Shadi nodded and shifted his scales slightly, Bakura watching them with uncontainable desire. "Yes, and I have found the thief. I have no doubts that he will come forward and give the eye to the new bearer when you two find him in the shadows."

"Wait," began Bakura, "We have to go together?"

Shadi looked at him indifferently, "Of course." The holder of the Millennium Scales and Key began to fade from view. "Find him before the Shadows devour his soul, he is needed in this world," said the Egyptian before he completely disappeared.

Yami and Bakura stared at the spot where Shadi had been for a moment or two, each lost in their own thoughts and discussing with their hikaris.

"Yugi says we should get going now," said the Pharaoh, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Hmph," said Bakura, "So does Ryou."

The thief then smiled and said, "Don't worry about him, Yami, he's just being as moody as usual." The white haired boy frowned for a moment, "He says he'll meet you in the Shadow Realm and that Yugi and I should stay here."

Yami nodded and the Millennium Puzzle flashed brightly, leaving Yugi in the place of his darker half. "I hope they can find the new item bearer," said Yugi as he walked to the desk once again, sitting on one of the chairs. "Hey, Ryou, since we're waiting for our Yami's to return, would you help me out with the Game Shop today? Grandfather is out on business and won't be back until we're closed."

"I haven't anything else to do," Ryou said and sat next to Yugi. "Why don't we duel until they get back?"

**LALALA**

Bakura and Yami stood in the Shadow Realm's darkness, both glaring at each other. The shadows swirled around the thief as he tried to restrain himself from forcing the Pharaoh into a shadow game. Honestly, having to work with his worst enemy was not what he had planned to do today.

"I'll look that way," said Bakura, pointing with his right hand. "If you find him, tell Yugi and he'll tell Ryou who will tell me."

"Why don't I just send a message through one of my duel monsters?" asked the Pharaoh bluntly.

"Because I don't want to talk to any of your duel monsters, that's why!" snapped Bakura and he began to walk to his right.  
Yami sighed and walked in the opposite direction. "Sometimes, thief, you make things too difficult," he muttered to himself.

**LALALA**

The bug was tall; it was taller than Harry remembered Hagrid's half-brother Grawp was and it was heading straight towards them. For a second Harry mused that this creature _was_ Grawp, only he had been attacked by centaurs or unicorns or something and they had completely mutilated his body. That second passed pretty quickly when Harry saw the creature go straight for the frightened man on the lake. "Hey! Watch out!!!" yelled Harry as the Man, who could clearly see the creature in front of him unlike not seeing Hogwarts or the lake, was glued to the spot. "Move!!!"

The man-eater, for he surely must be if he went straight for the man looking for all the world like a hungry, rabid beast, picked up the petrified man. The officer screamed, his voice penetrating the silence with an eerie, blood-curdling pitch. Harry swallowed and couldn't pull his eyes away as the creature threw its head back and the screaming stopped instantly. The man's body lay limp in the monster's hand, the head decapitated from the body.

Harry backed up slowly as a reflex of seeing something so horrible. The creature noticed his other prey leaving and turned to the young wizard. Blood poured from the creature's mouth and the uniform on the body was now covered in crimson liquid. Harry nearly vomited at the stench of death and continued to back up, not wanting to take his eyes off the creature. A stone connected with his foot and he fell, the creature, closer than ever, loomed above him, reaching his hand towards the wizard.

'I'm going to die,' thought Harry. 'I'm going to die and Voldemort will win. I still haven't found my friends yet and I'm going to die….'

Harry closed his eyes as the bug's hand wrapped around him, whimpering at the pain he felt from its grasp.

"Go, Dark Magician!" he heard a voice yell before he was released and fell to the ground, not much different than when he would fall off his broom in quidditch. Harry felt a bone crack, noting that it was the same arm that Lockhart had made boneless in his second year. He cautiously opened his eyes and saw a man and a teenager standing in front of him. The man wore a silly, purple get-up complete with hat and staff while the boy wore leather pants and shirt complete with gaudy, triangular jewelry. Harry was confused when the two quickly conversed and the purple man disappeared, leaving the teenager alone with him.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a deep, baritone voice. Harry shook his head and pushed himself up with his good arm.

"I think I've broken my arm," said Harry, getting a good look at the other boy. His eyes grew wide when he took in the star-shaped hair complete with yellow bangs that were sticking up every which way. The boy's eyes were a crimson almost purple-like color and he was smiling at him; Harry, the events of the day already trying, promptly passed out.

Harry started to wake up when he felt a stick poking him in the side. His arm was in pain and felt like it was double its normal size and he had a splitting head ache.  
"Bakura, stop poking him," said the deep voice of the teenager from earlier.

"It's not like he's awake, he won't notice," said another, more rasping voice.

"That's not the point!" yelled the first and Harry felt the stick move away from his body. "You can't just go around poking unconscious people!"

"I do as I want to, Pharaoh!" said the second, "Anyway, he's already awake, so now we can talk to him."

"What?"

Harry, taking that as his cue to open his eyes did so and was very grateful for the dark, purple sky not allowing too much light in. He noticed that he was in Hagrid's hut, lying on the giant bed with two people standing above him. Harry recognized the boy who had helped save him so he moved onto the other. The new teenager had bright, white hair that ended at the middle of his back in length and had reddish-brown eyes. He was currently glaring at the young wizard who avoided his gaze and noticed a strange pendant around the boy's neck, much like the other's triangle.

"Awake are you?" asked the white haired boy. "So weak, you can't even fight off the Man-Eater Bug."

"Bakura!" scolded the leather clad teen, "Stop judging him and help me to sit him up." The two teens both took a hold of Harry under his arms and sat him against the pillow.  
Harry hissed in pain and cradled his broken arm against his chest. "Oh, yes, his arm is broken. I forgot," said the first boy Harry had met. "Unfortunately we can't fix it right now, so we'll have to brace it with something for you. I'm sure your physical body now also has a broken arm, too. You can have it put into a cast when you return to it." The teen looked around the room until he looked at the one called 'Bakura.' "Bakura, I need your jacket."

"What? Are you crazy Pharaoh, you are not using my jacket!"

"My clothing won't work to help keep this stick in place," he said while holding out the stick that Harry assumed he had been poked with. Bakura glared hard and long at the shorter boy before finally taking his jacket off.

"No fair telling Yugi," said Bakura.

"Uhm, excuse me, but who are you?" asked Harry as the shortest teen began to straighten out his broken arm next to the stick and took the strips of fabric Bakura ripped from his jacket.

"My name is Yami," said Yami, "And this is Bakura. We came to find you."

"Where am I?" asked Harry. "This looks like Hogwarts, but there isn't anyone here, but us."

"You're in the Shadow Realm, a dark place full of monsters and lost souls," said Bakura.

"Why do I feel so weak and tired? It feels like every minute that passes I'm slipping further away from consciousness."

"That's the effect of the Shadow Realm on mortals. You've lasted quite a long time for your first visit to the Shadows," answered Yami who had finished wrapping up the wizard's arm.

"For now we need to get you out of here and back to your body. Where do you think it is?"

"Back to my body?"

"Yes," said Bakura, "Only your soul is here in the Realm of Shadows."

Harry swallowed and thought, 'Where was the last place I remember being with my friends?' Harry closed his eyes and remembered what had happened with Hermione and Remus in Diagon Alley when Voldemort attacked. He knew that they wouldn't just leave his body there, and if his soul was gone then the body was still alive. That left only one place, "12 Grimmauld Place," said Harry, "In England."

"England it is then," Yami said while he helped him to his feet. "Can you still walk?" Harry nodded and followed the two strange teenagers out of 'Hagrid's hut.'

It was hard for the boy-who-lived to keep up with the two as they seemed to not be bothered by this Shadow Realm at all and Harry soon found himself quite a ways behind the bickering pair. Another creature burst from the Forbidden Forest, this one looked like a goblin that he would find at Gringotts, only much wilder and vicious. "Yami! Bakura!" yelled Harry as the creature walked closer to him. He really did not like this Shadow Realm and its bizarre creatures.

The two fighting teenagers turned around and started to run towards Harry to try and stop the goblin. "We won't make it, Pharaoh," said Bakura, "The Goblin almost has him in his clutches."

"We can't let him die in the Shadow Realm, Bakura, he's the new item bearer, I'm sure of it!"

Bakura growled and threw something at the trembling wizard. "Hey, you! Catch!"

Harry's seeker skills came in handy when he saw the small, gold ball flying towards him. He jumped up and caught the ball which flashed the minute he touched it, startling the goblin who turned around and, upon seeing the other two teenagers, fled. Harry looked down at what was in his hand and nearly dropped it out of shock. He had caught a golden eye with the same design as the necklaces the two strange teens wore around their necks. Even with the absence of light the eye glinted at him and, after a moment's consideration, made him feel the safest he had during his stay in the Shadow Realm.

"Bakura!" yelled Yami when they got to Harry, "you had the Eye the whole time?!"

"Well, come on, Pharaoh," sneered the white haired teen, "It's not that hard to figure out who had it. I've always wanted the items and I'd do anything to get them," Bakura grinned, "even rip them from Pegasus' head." Seeing how green Harry became at that comment he said, "Don't worry, kid, I cleaned it."

"Harry," said Harry. "You told me your names, so I should tell you mine. It's Harry Potter. I don't know why I trust you, but you know more about this place than I do and this….eye makes me feel safer, so it must be okay."

Yami smiled, "Well it's nice to meet you, Harry," he said. "Now, we're at a good place where we can send you back to your body. The eye will be in your pocket when you wake up from your comatose state, so don't pull it out in front of others. Of course, you'll need to learn how to use it now that you are its holder so you'll need to contact us so we can meet."

Harry nodded and looked thoughtful, "If you tell me your last names I can send someone to get you if I tell them you saved me."

"Look for Yugi Mutou and Ryou Bakura," said Yami. "Now walk through there," a portal appeared as Yami made an arch with his arm. "And don't forget to tell them our names."

Harry nodded, "Thank you for saving me," he said and walked through the portal.

"Time to head home and wait," said Yami as Bakura closed the portal. "We'll talk more about your thieving the Millennium Eye later, I'm tired." The two spirits concentrated on their magic and left the Shadow Realm, back to their hosts.

* * *

Hope you liked the chapter. It's longer than the last one! Let me know what you think and keep reading. See you next update!  
Maki-sama


	4. Nice to Meet You

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Yu-Gi-Oh.

Reminders:  
_/Yugi to Yami/  
//Yami to Yugi//  
:Ryou to Bakura:  
::Bakura to Ryou::  


* * *

  
_Harry twitched his hand; his body was stiff from misuse and lying in the same position too long. He concentrated and moved his forefinger, slowly lifting each finger on his hands until he could move them all individually and together. Satisfied with his hands, he moved onto his wrists almost like he was waving his hands up and down. He never really understood the idea of his soul being in the Shadow Realm until this moment when his body felt entirely too heavy to lift. Harry continued to loosen each joint one at a time until he was able to completely move his arms and legs. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling of his room. Noting the dusty ceiling he guessed he was back at the head quarters of the Order of the Phoenix, the musty smell of the room mixed with the feeling of darkness nearly confirmed it.

Harry braced himself and pushed his body up into a sitting position, his joints cracking as he leaned against his head board. He looked around his room at 12 Grimauld Place and was thankful for who ever thought to keep his glasses on his soulless body. Harry reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out the Millennium Eye. Warmth spread through his body from his hand much like how it felt to hold his wizard's wand. He smiled and watched how the light hit the golden eye and how the shadows played around its surface. Hearing the floor board outside his room creak, he swiftly put the eye back in his pocket, keeping a hold of it under the blanket.

The door opened and Hermione walked into the room with her nose in a book entitled _Comatose States and How to Wake Up_. She was carrying the book in one hand and a glass of water precariously in the other. Almost like she had navigated his room like this a thousand times before, she moved in front of a chair next to his bed and sat down. With a sigh she put the glass of water on Harry's bedside table and put the book in her lap. For a moment the witch stared at her best friend sitting in his bed with an amused expression on his face.

"Harry, you're awake!" she exclaimed and a thundering of footsteps were heard running up a staircase, along with the screaming of a deranged woman. A flash of red hair flew into the room and Harry found himself surrounded by a hug from three sides. Hermione and Ginny sat on one side of his bed and Ron on the other, each trying to hug him at the same time.

"We thought you were a goner," said Ron who couldn't help but smile at the sight of his clearly awake friend. Harry grinned nervously and looked at who else had entered his room when Hermione had yelled. Remus stood behind the chair Hermione had vacated and Mrs. Weasley stood at the edge of his bed, both looking extremely tired and relieved. Professor Dumbledore was in the doorway, his eyes twinkling playfully making him look as excited as the three Gryffindors around Harry were.

"All right, everyone, let's give Harry some air," said Remus and Harry's friends left his bed and stood up. Hermione picked up her book from the floor and smiled at him.

"How long have I been out?" croaked Harry and took the offered water from Hermione, thankful it hadn't been spilled in her surprised.

"You've been unconscious for a few days, Harry," said Dumbledore and he entered the room to stand next to Mrs. Weasley.

"Do you know what happened when you fought you-know-who in Diagon Alley?" asked Remus.

Harry shook his head, leaving the adults looking concerned and disappointed.

"Two boys saved me though," said Harry, remembering that the two strange teenagers had told him that he would need their help with the Millennium Eye that he still held in his pocket.

"Who?" asked Dumbledore. "Do you know how?"

"Their names are Yugi Mutou and Ryou Bakura," said Harry, "And I'm not sure how they saved me, but they did." Harry smiled and ran his thumb over the smooth surface of the eye.

"Harry," began Hermione, "It sounds like you went somewhere while you were unconscious….what do you mean 'saved you'?"

Harry swallowed. He was pretty sure Yami and Bakura wouldn't want him to tell everyone about the Shadow Realm, especially since he didn't know much about it at this point. Thankfully, his stomach saved him from answering by giving off an audible groan.

"Oh, dear, you must be famished," said Mrs. Weasley. "Everyone, get out. I'm going to make you some food, Harry and you must eat it all," she said while shepherding everyone out of the room.

"I'll contact Mr. Mutou and Bakura," said Dumbledore before he left the room. Hermione still looked like she had questions, but left with Ron and Ginny who promised to visit him again in a couple hours.

Alone again, Harry sighed in relief. He knew they would have more questions for him later, but for now he could relax and try to understand everything that had happened while in the separate realm. He really hoped Dumbledore let his new friends come to England. Friends? Harry supposed they could be friends since the experiences they had together in the Shadow Realm. Of course, Harry wasn't even sure who or what they were as they hadn't been affected or weakened by the Shadows like he had been. He only hoped they weren't spies for Voldemort or that the whole Shadow Realm experience was a dream.

**LALALA**

A few days passed before Yugi, Ryou, and their respective Yamis heard anything about Harry. It happened one afternoon when the two hikaris were discussing the boy in Yugi's room. Bakura was angry that Harry hadn't tried to contact them directly after they let him out of the Shadow Realm and was ready to try and find the boy himself. Yami was more sensible and reasoned that they hadn't exactly told the boy where they lived, just their names. Yugi and Ryou were both amused by their Yamis' different ideas about the boy and couldn't wait to meet him themselves.

"Yugi, someone to see you," called Yugi's grandfather from downstairs.

"Coming," Yugi called and he and Ryou left the bedroom and walked downstairs to the Game shop. Their Yami's followed in spirit form, hoping it was the new Millennium Eye's holder.  
The most bizarre man any of them had ever seen sat at the kitchen table waiting for the boys. He wore bright purple robes that seemed to be covered in sparkling stars. He had a long white beard and looked like he had walked out of a fantasy novel.

_::He must be over 150 years old::_ commented Bakura. _::Like he's going to drop dead at your table, little Yugi.::_

//Be nice, Bakura.// scolded Yami. _//He's probably just some senile old man who read about Yugi in the newspaper.//_

"Hello, are you Yugi Mutou," asked the old man.

"Yes," said Yugi, "And this is my friend, Ryou Bakura."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Bakura," the old man smiled, "This saves me a trip to your apartment." The two hikaris looked at each other, both concerned about who this man was. "Forgive me," he said, "I'm Professor Dumbledore and I was told you helped one of my students: Harry Potter."

"Oh, yes, Harry," smiled Yugi, "How is he?"

"He's doing well. Though from what I hear he's a little worried about you two. You see, it took me quite some time to locate where you lived. I searched all over England before I realized you didn't live there. Thankfully it was easy to find you after I saw you participated and were finalists in a tournament held here not too long ago," Dumbledore said. "Imagine my surprise when I also realized you were both magical. Do you attend the magic school here in Japan?"

"No, we don't. I had no idea there were such things as Magic schools," said Ryou, looking suspicious.

_:: Don't be so suspicious of him, hikari. It doesn't feel like he's lying and he does know about Harry Potter.::_

:Yes, but a 'magic school' does sound rather crazy.:

"Oh good," said the old professor, "I'd like to give these to you then." Dumbledore handed an envelope to each of the boys. Yugi looked his over and saw his name written on it in green ink, he turned the envelope this way and that until he deemed it safe enough to open. He nodded to Ryou and they both broke the seal on their letters.

"An acceptance letter?" asked Yugi.

"Yes, I'd like you both to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," said Dumbledore. "Due to your ages you'll start with the sixths years of course, but with the strength of your magic I'm sure you can catch up relatively quickly. I could take you to England tonight and we could tutor you throughout the summer if that would make you feel more comfortable."

Yami took over for Yugi at this point. "Would we be able to see Harry?" he asked.

"Of course," said the headmaster. "I will take you to where he's currently staying and you'll be tutored there."

Yugi looked at his grandfather, wanting to know his opinion on attending the school and leaving that night. Solomon Mutou smiled at his grandson and nodded his head. "I can handle the Game shop," he said, "And if I need any help I'll call Joey."

Yugi smiled, "Okay, I'll go."

Ryou nodded, "I will, too."

Dumbledore clapped his hands and smiled, "It's settled then. We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

**LALALA**

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting in the library. Hermione was perusing the bookshelves while Harry worked on his summer homework and Ron begged the boy to play chess with him.

"Ron, leave Harry alone. You should be doing your homework, too," said Hermione as she sat down with three different books.

"What about you, Hermione, you're not doing homework."

Harry sighed and put his quill down, somehow having finished the essay while Ron was complaining. "Hermione already finished hers, Ron."

Ron, realizing that none of his friends were going to do anything besides studying decided to go to the kitchen for a snack. He opened the door and stopped, hearing voices down the stairs. "Hey, you guys," he said.

"What, Ron?" asked Hermione. "We're not going to get a snack."

"No, there are people here," he said. "They're talking to Dumbledore and my mom."

"New people?" asked Harry, "Can you see them? What do they look like?"

"I don't know," he said trying to see down the stairs. "Oh, they're coming up!" Ron scurried back to the library table and sat down as the door opened completely and Dumbledore stepped in.

"Studying for the school year, I see," said the professor, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Hello, Professor," said the three students.

"I have two new incoming students at Hogwarts who will be staying here for the remainder of the summer that I want to introduce you to," he said with a smile. "They will need to catch up on five years worth of magical education, and I trust you will be a help to them, Ms. Granger." Hermione nodded and smiled proudly. Two teens about their age entered the room and stood next to Professor Dumbledore and Harry stared in shock as he saw the two boys who had saved him from the Shadows. "May I present Yugi Mutou and Ryou Bakura," said Dumbledore. "I'll leave you to get acquainted. Dinner is in an hour."

"Hello," said Hermione and she walked over to the two boys, holding out her hand. "I'm Hermione Granger. And this is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."

Yugi smiled and shook her hand, "I'm Yugi and this is Ryou." Ryou also shook her hand, although he seemed a bit distracted.

The white haired teen turned to Harry, "Professor Dumbledore told us we'd be sharing a room with you and Ron," he said. "Would you mind showing us where it was so we can take our things up there and get settled?" Harry nodded his head, confused at the soft and smooth voice that he had never heard before. Come to think of it, he had thought Yami's voice was deeper as well.

The three boys left the library and started down the hallway. "It's not far," said Harry as he opened the door, "And it's not really much, but…."

The two beds that had been in the room before had now become two sets of bunk beds to make more room for the four boys that would be sleeping there. Harry and Ron's things had been moved to the set on the right, so Harry led the two boys to the set on the left. "I guess this is your side since my things have been set over here," he said, sitting in an arm chair, unsure if he should stay or go. The two strange boys were working on putting their things away, Yugi taking the lower bunk since he was so much shorter than Ryou.

"Uhm," Harry began and the two looked at him. "I was just wondering…."

"Yes?" asked Yugi.

"Why do your voices sound so different?" he said. "And both your hair styles are slightly different. I mean, it has been a couple days, but I don't think I'd forget anything that quickly."  
Yugi smiled, "I was wondering how long it would take you to realize."

"It's a good thing he was observant, otherwise I'd have beat some sense in to him," said a voice next to Ryou. And when Harry looked closer he saw a spirit who looked exactly like the white haired teen, but with much crazier hair. He stared for a second before rubbing his eyes.

"You know there's…." Harry stopped talking when a spirit appeared next to Yugi as well.

"Ah, yes, I guess we should explain," said Ryou, with a kind smile. He and Yugi sat on the lower bunk, the two spirits staying where they were.

"Harry," began Yugi slowly, "I hear you've already met Yami and Bakura."

"Okay," said Harry. "I can see how you two are Yami and Bakura, but then how are you ghosts?"

"As a Millennium Item holder you can see us," Yami said. "3000 years ago a pharaoh sealed away his soul in the Millennium Puzzle to save Egypt from an evil and dark power."

"My grandfather gave me the pieces to the Millennium Puzzle and I solved it about a year or so ago. That's when I met Yami, the spirit of the Pharaoh," said Yugi. "Ryou and I are the reincarnations of Yami and Bakura and basically the other halves of their souls. Bakura is sealed in the Millennium Ring, also from the same time period as Yami."

"Okay," Harry said, trying to take everything in. "If he's the pharaoh," and Harry pointed to Yami and then Bakura, "You can't be his right hand man, because you don't seem to like him very much."

"I'd certainly hope not," said Yami, looking disgusted. "He's a foul tomb robber!"

"Aw, Pharaoh, I'm so upset you won't accept my application for your advisor."

The two started to bicker and Harry sighed in relief. He remembered their personalities clashing in the Shadow Realm and was glad that it hadn't been a deranged dream. "Well then, Yugi and Ryou," said Harry, "It's nice to meet you."

Yugi smiled and shook the wizard's hand, "It's nice to meet you, too, Harry."

The two boys finished packing up and their spirits returned to their Items. After they finished packing it was time for dinner so Harry showed them where the kitchen was.  
"So you two are starting as sixth years?" asked Hermione as food was floating onto the table.

"Yes," said Ryou. "One of the Hogwarts Professors is supposed to come tomorrow and help us catch up as much as we can during the summer after we do some shopping for basic wizarding needs."

"What about Voldemort and his attack on Diagon Alley," asked Harry, not wanting his new friends to meet the dark wizard.

"They will be fine," said Remus. "Yugi and Ryou will be escorted through the Alley by Professor Snape."

Ron snorted, "Have fun with the git."

"Ronald Weasley!" scolded his mother, "Professor Snape is a very respectable man."

"What's wrong with Professor Snape?" Ryou whispered to Harry.

"He just doesn't like very many people," Harry whispered back, "Very antisocial."

Dinner continued in much the same fashion. Ryou helped Mrs. Weasley clean the dishes despite her arguments that he should have fun with the other kids and Yugi learned how to play Wizard's Chess with Ron, beating him at every game. "It looks like you've met your match," Hermione had said after the fifth game that lasted about five minutes.

**LALALA  
**  
The night grew darker and everyone in the house went to sleep for the evening. The Millennium Ring shone brightly for a second before the white hair teen who wore it sat up in bed. Bakura looked around the room, noting where all the boys were sleeping. He carefully and lightly jumped down from the top bunk, landing silently like only a thief could. He reached the door before hearing his name being called quietly.

"Bakura, where are you going?" asked the Pharaoh.

"I'm going to scout this house," he whispered back. "I'll be back before anyone knows I've been gone."

"Be careful," said Yugi before he fell back asleep and the tomb robber silently left the room.  


* * *

There's the next chapter, I hope you liked it. School starts on Monday, so it will probably take longer between updates. Like I said before, I'm shooting for at least two weeks between each chapter.  
Thank you for all the reviews and see you next chapter!  
Maki-sama


	5. Adventure in the Dark

Disclaimer: I do no own YuGiOh or Harry Potter.

Reminders:  
_/Yugi to Yami/  
//Yami to Yugi//  
:Ryou to Bakura:  
::Bakura to Ryou::_

* * *

  
Bakura softly shut the door behind him and looked down each end of the hallway as far as he could see. In front of him was a painting of a dark ritual, obviously requiring human sacrifice. Bakura snorted and observed the painting, wondering why no one would bother to take it down since children were sleeping in the room across from it. Three men surrounded a fourth who seemed to be engulfed in some form of fire or light and they were each holding a wand towards the sacrifice, which is what the man must be. The village around the wizards was burning and flickered in the light. 'Wait a second….' Bakura looked closer and realized the painting was moving. The sacrifice was clearly screaming silently and the three evil men were casting spells at him over and over again.

Bakura shook his head and looked down the hallway again, left then right. To the left he remembered the staircase going down with a few doors between the stairs and the boys' room. On the other hand, he had never ventured down the rest of the hallway. Grinning impishly, Bakura began his adventure down the hallway to the right of his bedroom. Arriving at the first door, Bakura pressed his ear against it and listened. Inside he heard heavy breathing indicating it was another bedroom. He carefully turned the door knob and pushed the door open enough that he could put his head through. Inside he saw the adult wizard, Remus. He looked around the room, not seeing anything that interested him. At least they thought to put a "chaperone" near the children.

Bakura shut the door, not enough paying attention to hear the sound of a waking werewolf. He continued his trek, ignoring what he knew to be the bathroom. He passed a few more interesting and equally dark portraits of evil rituals and scenes before reaching the next door. This room was an unused bedroom that looked like it had been used recently.

"How boring," Bakura muttered, "every room is a bedroom." He entered the room and looked around. On the dresser he noticed a picture of Harry and a wooden box. Inside the box were letters from the boy written to two different people: Sirius and Snuffles. Bakura put the pictures back in the box and left the room. He followed the hallway to the very end, assuming all other rooms were as boring as the first couple. There was one more door at the end of the hallway next a dusty staircase that looked like it was rarely used, or hadn't been in a long time.

Bakura smirked as he felt another presence through the door. He began turning the doorknob only to have it not move. He tried again, to make sure the house was not using magic to trick him, but sure as ever the door was locked. Pulling out a small pin from his pocket, Bakura opened the door with ease. Apparently who ever locked the door didn't try that hard to keep people out since it only took him a matter of seconds to unlock.

The thief entered the room and sighed in frustration; it was another bathroom. He ventured inside of the one and looked around the unused room. The paint on the walls screamed 'paint job' as it was peeling off the walls, large chunks clearly missing. The odor was foul and Bakura had to quickly cover his nose and mouth as he felt his dinner rise into his throat. Clearly no one had used this bathroom in much longer than the spirit had thought.

The white haired teen had seen, and smelled, enough. He turned around and headed towards the door. As he was about to step out he felt himself lose his balance and was pulled backwards. The door slammed shut and Bakura felt his backside make contact with the floor as he landed. He looked up and saw a floating, blurry ghost-like figure. The ghost smirked at him and flew once around the room; Bakura tried to keep him in his sights.

"What have we here," said the ghost in sing-song and raspy voice, not unlike the tomb robber's timbre. "Why, it's a small child, lost in the dark and scary house." The ghost cackled and did a flip in the air, spinning closer to Bakura's face. If the ghost were alive, Bakura was sure his teeth would be a putrid yellow, especially since he was missing a few. The intangible man was very old looking and had a short beard and balding head. He wore wizard robes and the toe on his right shoe had a hole in it, displaying his big toe.

Bakura felt a small prodding though his mind link and knew that he had woken up Ryou in his soul room. Bakura glared at the ghost, "I'm not small child, fiend." The spirit stood up and made for the door, hoping he could get the body back into bed before Ryou became fully aware of the situation.

The spirit was pushed back against the sink, held there by the vile creature. "And I am no fiend. I am the poltergeist of this water closet, and you'd do well to remember never to return here after I've killed you." The poltergeist smiled and Bakura, his hand holding him up against the sink, felt a sharp pain as glass from a long broken mirror cut into his palm.

"It has been some time since someone has stayed long enough in my lair for me to murder," continued the poltergeist, "I'll take great pleasure from this." The ghost moved closer to the thief and Bakura tried to move as far back as he could, unsure if he could just run through the poltergeist.

The door slammed open and a spell him the being who was quickly trapped across the room. Bakura saw Remus Lupin standing in the door way, "Come one, Ryou, I don't think that will hold him long. We tried to get rid of him when we first came here, but it didn't work. Now let's go!" Bakura nodded and moved swiftly out the door; Remus shut and locked it just as the effects of the spell wore off. A loud, howling moan roared through the shut door. Bakura sighed quietly and Remus turned to him with a suspicious glance. "Why were you in there, Ryou?" Bakura didn't say anything and Remus sighed, leading him towards the kitchen.

_:Bakura, what happened? Why are we not in bed?:_

::Oh, you know, Ryou. I was out.::

Ryou looked through Bakura's eyes and the spirit could feel the disappointment through their bond. _:You went exploring didn't you? Even though I told you and that Professor Dumbledore told you not to.:_

::Did you really want to stay in a potentially dangerous environment?::

:Ignorance is bliss: was the only reply Bakura got before he sat at the kitchen table and Remus cleaned his cut with a wave of his wand.

"I'm not that good at healing magic, so you'll have a scar until Madam Pomphrey can look at it at Hogwarts," Remus said. "Now, why were you in that bathroom, Ryou?"

Bakura sighed and looked at his scarred palm, "I was looking around. I didn't trust the house." Remus sighed as well and looked at the teen. Bakura met his gaze, not feeling remorseful in the least.

"Didn't Professor Dumbledore already tell you it was dangerous, Ryou? You're not trained in any magic yet; you could have been hurt worse or killed by that poltergeist. Now, if you promise me that you will stay out of the uninhabited parts of the house I won't tell Mrs. Weasley about your adventure."

Bakura nodded after feeling the hope in his mind link with Ryou. "Of course, Mr. Lupin," Bakura imitated his hikari perfectly. The spirit stood up and smiled at the ex-professor, "I'm going to head back up to bed, thank you for saving me."

**LALALA**

Harry's description of Professor Severus Snape not liking people and being very antisocial was an understatement; A very large understatement. The man loathed just about anything that moved, and Yugi was sure that he hated all inanimate objects as well. When he mentioned this to the trio of Hogwarts students Ron snorted as Harry observed he must at least like his potions supplies.

When Professor Snape arrived, he was already annoyed. Obviously the potions master did not like running the Headmaster's brilliant errands. He sneered as he caught sight of Remus and try valiantly to ignore Harry's existence. It was only fitting that today was the day that it took forever to get Ryou out of bed.

"Come on, Ryou, we have to leave in ten minutes," exclaimed Yugi as he shook his friend. Ryou responded by burying his head into his pillow and groaning.

"lllvv meeeh lone," he mumbled into the pillow. Yugi looked at Harry and Hermione for a better idea. He didn't want to be mean to his friend, but at the same time he knew if he was too forceful the spirit of the ring may cause more damage than help. Apparently last night's adventure proved to be too much for the poor teenager.

"Ryou, we have to go shopping and start our tutoring sessions with Professor Snape!" Yugi said, "You like school, come on!"

Ryou appeared to have fallen asleep again.

"What do we do?" asked Hermione, trying to think of all the times she had to wake up Ron during the summer. Ron was currently stuffing his face in the kitchen.  
"I don't know," Yugi sighed, "He's normally an early riser."

Hermione perked up and left the room without a word; Yugi and Harry glanced at each other, confused. The two boys sat down on Harry's bunk and watched the white haired teen dream.

"So, about this shadow stuff," Harry began, "Are you ever going to be able to explain more of it to me?" Harry pulled the Millennium Eye from his pocket and turned it over and over again in his hand. Yugi smiled and thought of the warmth he felt from his puzzle.

"We will later tonight if you want," Yugi said, "But of course you can't tell Ron or Hermione about any of it, so we'll have to sneak around somewhere since Ron is staying in this room, too." Harry nodded and quickly put the eye back in his pocket as Hermione ran back into the room.

"I've got a pepper-up potion!" exclaimed Hermione who stood next to the sleeping Ryou. "Ryou, want to try a magic potion?"

The white haired boy moved slightly to look sleepily at her through his bangs, "What's in it," asked gruff voice. Yugi winced; he was glad the spirit's voice could sound like Ryou had just woken up.

"It will help you get more energy," said Hermione, "Sort of like the coffee of the wizarding world!"

The potion was snatched from the witch and downed in one gulp. Bakura sat up and coughed, "That tastes foul!" he shouted.

"So does coffee," replied Hermione indignantly.

Bakura glared at her and rubbed his eyes, stretched, and yawned. "What time is it," he asked.

"It's 9:55," replied Yugi, "And you have five minutes to get ready…." At hearing the time the spirit, or was it Ryou now, had grabbed up some clothing and ran out of the room to the bathroom.

"Wow, Hermione," said Harry, "That was some quick thinking." Hermione smiled and left the room to take the vial back downstairs.

Ryou re-entered the room two minutes later, hair dripping wet and pajamas clutched in his hands. "Come on, Yugi, it's time to go!" Yugi and Harry laughed.

**LALALA  
**  
Yugi, Ryou, and the Professor took the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron. The two boys unsteadily walked through the door, their future Professor acting as though riding the bus had no effect on him whatsoever. The bartender gave them an odd look, staring at Yugi's hair style a little longer than necessary. A quick glare from the Professor and he didn't bother them anymore.

The trio walked to the back of the tavern and Snape tapped a specific brick, making the wall curl in on itself, and opening up to a shopping district. Yugi and Ryou looked around, amazed at the buildings on either side of the alley. It didn't take long for them to notice the boarded up windows and empty street. They looked at each other and ran to catch up to their Professor who had started down the street without them. The first stop was the wizard bank where they exchanged their muggle money for gold and silver coins.

"Since we're at this end, I suggest we first buy your school uniforms," said the Professor and the two followed him into Madame Malkin's. The Madame gave the two a hesitant smile as she and her workers started to fit them for robes. It was quick work with their wands and they made sure the uniforms were ready quickly so they didn't have to stay in the alley too long. Every time the door opened she would jump.

The shopping went quickly from then on out. They bought all their school books, parchment, quills, ink, and only took longer in the apothecary.  
"What do you mean, you're out of phoenix tears, I ordered those months in advance. I want to speak to your manager immediately."

The last stop was wands, and since Ollivander's was closed, the three found another wand maker closer to Knockturn Alley.

"Yes, Ollivander was my cousin," said the old man behind the counter as they walked in. "And I see you two are new Hogwarts students." He bustled around the counter and looked at each of them curiously. He was a little taller than Yugi, but not by much and had a full head of white hair. He had an intelligent look in his eyes, but seemed to hold an air of insanity; Being near the old man made Yugi feel nervous, like he could see into his very soul. Without another word he scurried to the back of the shop.

Yugi and Ryou stood for a moment, trying to take in everything about this man. Snape seemed unfazed, like he had been in there plenty of times before and knew the man.

The shop was lined with shelves, all covered in dusty boxes. There were broken pieces of glass littering one corner of the room and another had a strange orange goop. Overall the shop looked old, almost as old as the old man that came towards them, his arms laden with boxes. He dropped the boxes on the counter and came back to the two boys, holding a wand out to Yugi. Yugi stared at the wand and the wand….didn't stare back.

"Go ahead and wave it," said the old man.

Yugi nodded and waved the wand, thinking the whole ordeal silly. He jumped nearly a foot when a floor board peeled itself up from the floor with a resounding _snap_. The wand was taken from him and replaced with another. Yugi tried nearly ten wands before he was handed a shiny, smooth wand. He waved it and the broken glass in the corner became a mirror again. Warmth filled him, reminding him of his puzzle and his partner within it. "Nice and flexible, 10 inches rosewood with the core of a unicorn," commented the old man and he handed a wand to Ryou.

The process started all over again as Ryou tried and failed at wand after wand. It felt like forever before Ryou smiled as green sparks shot out above him, "12 inches yew with the core of a phoenix; that will be 15 galleons each, please."

"Now, now, sir," said Snape, stepping forward. "There are plenty of other places we could look where they would pay only 10 galleons."

"Fine, 10 galleons," he said less enthusiastically. The boys paid for their wands and left the shop with Snape.

"Thank you for…."

"No thanks is necessary, Mr. Mutou," Snape said as they left the alley. "I simply did not want him to overcharge anyone." Yugi nodded and he and Ryou followed the Professor out of the Leaky Cauldron and onto the Knight Bus for the return trip home  


* * *

So there is the next chapter. Sorry about the amount of time it took me to update! I've had to get used to school again and have a lot of homework to do. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know it's not the greatest, but I'll try to update as soon as I can.  
Thanks for reading!  
Maki-sama


	6. First hint of Shadows

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Yu-Gi-Oh!

Reminders:

_/Yugi to Yami/  
//Yami to Yugi//  
:Ryou to Bakura:  
::Bakura to Ryou::  


* * *

  
_Yugi and Ryou sat in the library reading through books that Hermione had lent them on first year material at Hogwarts. Yugi was working on Charms while Ryou was working his way through Defense against the Dark Arts. They both took notes while reading, hoping to write down the information they would need this school year. With only about a week until September 1, they wanted to understand as much as they could. Professor Snape had told them that if they grasped the basic theory of all the subjects they would be taking then it wouldn't be hard to catch them up on the spell work. The headmaster had said their magical abilities were measured rather high for young spell casters. The two hikaris had no doubt in their minds that it had to do with their shadow magic abilities.

Harry and his two friends entered the library, Ron carrying bulky bag and scowling. The trio sat at Yugi and Ryou's table, Hermione and Harry making themselves comfortable. Ron pulled out a big tome and some parchment, obviously being forced to work on his summer homework.

"How is the studying going, you two," Hermione asked while taking a look at Ryou's notes.

"It's going well," said Yugi as he finished the Charms book. "I just hope we can work quickly on the wand movements and spells. I'm trying to memorize them as I go, but it would be easier if I could practice."

"You could always practice the arm and wrist movements," Harry said, flipping through one of the first year books absent mindedly. "Then you'd at least have those down so when you added the wand it would come easier."

Ryou nodded, "That's a good plan, perhaps we'll do that later after we finish these books."

"You know, Ryou, these notes are great! Where did you learn to notate the important facts so clearly!" exclaimed Hermione and the two were soon lost in an intellectual conversation about note taking.

"Oh great," said Harry, "He's one of those scholarly types, too?"

Yugi just laughed and nodded, pulling the potions book toward his station. "This is the last book we need to look through once Ryou is done with Defense. Then we can practice wand movements. Would you help us later, Harry?" Yugi gave Harry a look, clearly implying that they would not be working on wand movements.

Harry nodded, "Of course I will."

"Oy," complained Ron, "Don't you two have summer homework to do?"

Yugi shook his head, "No, we're exempt…." A groan escaped from Ron as he threw his head into his book. "I wish I had to catch up five years of magic school so I could be exempt."

"You already need to do that, now work on your homework," admonished Hermione as she pointed to his one sentence essay.

"Hey, Hermione, what does this mean," asked Yugi as he pointed to a spot in his potions book. "Professor Snape said if we had any questions, our best bet was to ask you, especially about potions."

Ron scoffed; Hermione beamed.

**LALALA**

"Hey, Harry, do you want to help me with my essays and then we could play Wizards chess," asked Ron, enthusiastically.

Harry shook his head, "Sorry, I'm helping Yugi and Ryou with their wand work minus wands tonight."

Ron pouted and turned to Hermione who sighed and nodded causing the red head to "whoop" and pump the air in joy. Harry sneakily left his two friends in search of his newer friends. He found them in their bedroom, waiting patiently.

"We need to find somewhere a bit more private," Ryou said. "Do you have any ideas?"

Harry thought for a moment and nodded. "I know the perfect place. No one would think to look there." Ryou nodded and the two hikaris stood up. Harry led them out of the room and down the hallway, making sure no one was following them. He checked one last time before opening a door. Bakura recognized the room immediately as one of the bedrooms he had scouted out a few days ago. On the dresser sat the wooden box and picture of the boy-who-lived. Harry shut the door quietly as the two item holders entered the room and looked around.

"What makes you think they won't find us here, Harry," asked Yugi and the spirit of the Pharaoh appeared next to him.

"This was my Godfather's room," said Harry. "He passed away at the end of last year." Harry swallowed and continued, "No one would even think that I would be in this room."  
"I'm sorry," said Ryou as the Tomb robber appeared next to him. "He must have been very special to you."

Harry nodded and shook his head, "So what do I get to learn tonight?" He sat down in the chair by the desk while Ryou and Yugi sat on the dusty bed.

"Well," began Yami, "First you need to understand that they nature of Shadow Magic is not very light." The Pharaoh noticed the apprehensive look on the young wizard's face. "It's not that the Shadows are necessarily dark, though."

Bakura decided to take over, "You see, Shadow magic is what it is, Shadows, yet it doesn't need to be used for evil intent. You could use it to protect yourself or someone else."

Harry sighed, relieved that he wasn't learning something evil. He never had any doubt that his new friends were evil, but any type of magic with the word "Shadow" associated with it set alarms off in his head. "Okay, so what can you do with it?"

"My personal favorite is…." Ryou gave the spirit a look, silencing Bakura before he could mention anything.

"Shadow Magic is normally used in games," said Ryou. "A lot of times the loser loses something very dear to him and that is normally their soul unless stated otherwise by the person controlling the game."

"It can also be used differently depending on your millennium item," piped up Yugi from his seat.

"Take the ring for example," Bakura said. All three of the experienced Shadow users looked apprehensive, confusing Harry. "I can seal souls in objects, find other millenniums, and will never leave the one I'm bonded to." Bakura smirked. "Of course, all millennium items can summon shadow creatures as well."

Harry gulped, "Why do I get the feeling you're not a very nice person…." His eyes opened wide and he covered his mouth with his hand. Bakura scowled and Ryou laughed.

"Shush, Hikari!" Bakura growled. "It's not that funny!"

"I'm sorry, Bakura. It's just that everyone else seemed nervous that you were talking and…."

Yami chuckled, "Yes, well that is to be expected from the thief. Of course, we'll leave talk about him and his mistakes later."

"So you said that the items were used in games," Harry changed the subject, noting the look on the angry spirit's face. "What kind of games are they used in."

"Penalty games for sure," said Bakura with a smirk.

"Penalty….games?"

"Yeah, you challenge your enemy, or opponent, to a game of your choice. It could be anything ranging from not doing something to performing a task. Hopefully you won't have to use one," Yugi supplied the answer. "But the best way to use Shadow Magic in games is in Duel Monsters!"

Ryou smiled and handed Harry a box. "We tried to find all the cards we had with us that weren't in our decks so you could construct your own. You'll need to learn how to play of course, but Yugi can help you make a deck."

Harry curiously opened the box and drew a card out of the pile inside. The card had a picture of a rose colored Dragon on it with thorns and petals surrounding it. The top of the card had seven small red circles with yellow stars in them.

"Oh, Black Rose Dragon," said Yugi. "What made you pick that card?"

"I don't know, I just sort of picked one from the box. This is the first card I touched," Harry said, looking the card over at all angles.

"Harry," the five heard a voice call.

"Oh, shoot, Ron must have gotten bored with homework and escaped." The two spirits disappeared into the Ring and Harry left the bedroom, making sure no one was in the hallway before leaving with the hikaris.

"We probably won't get a chance to teach you anything until school starts, but if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask," said Yami, who had taken control of Yugi.  
Harry nodded and left in search of his best friend, box of cards held securely in his hands, the Black Rose Dragon still in his hand.

"Dragons like him, huh," commented Bakura.

"It seems so," Yami replied as the spirits relinquished control to their hikaris.

**LALALA**

The summer's end came quickly and soon the house was full of people packing and shouting, trying to make sure nothing was forgotten in the rush to the train station. The boys' room was a disaster as Ron searched for one of his school books, unsure where he had last seen it. Ryou was packed and waiting patiently for the other three boys to finish so they could leave.

"I'll go check the library again," Ron exclaimed as he ran out the door.

The change was subtle at first, but no one could deny the malicious chuckle that came from Ryou. His hair grew wilder and a sadistic look overcame his face. The spirit of the ring stood up and opened Ryou's trunk, pulling out the book that Ron had been searching frantically for during the last hour. "You'd think he would have packed his books last night in case one was misplaced," grinned the evil spirit.

"Oh, Bakura…."

"Hey, Ryou!" Ron smiled, "You found my book! Thanks a lot man!"

'Ryou' smiled and handed the book back to Ron. "Any time," said the spirit in a perfect imitation of his hikari.

Ron threw all his school things back in his trunk and the boys carried theirs downstairs, Harry and Ron always lugging their owls' cages.  
"Are you excited about Hogwarts, Yugi," Harry asked when they reached the front landing where everyone waited for them.

Yugi nodded, "From what I've read it's quite….magical I guess is the best word for it," he laughed.

Harry smiled and shook his head while the group of witches and wizards piled into the Knight Bus for a ride to King's Cross Station. The ride was rather uneventful, Ron managing to spill hot chocolate on Hermione and Harry becoming uncomfortable at the looks Ginny kept throwing his way.

The group stopped in front of the division of platforms 9 and 10, Yugi and Ryou looking around themselves in confusion. "Where is the platform?" Ryou asked.

"Right there," said Ron, "You just run through the wall and bam! There's the Hogwarts Express."

"R-run through the wall?" asked Yugi, concerned.

"Oh come on, you've been through worse," muttered 'Ryou.'

Yugi took the hint and switched places with the Pharaoh, who never backed down from a challenge. "How about you go in first, Ryou…." Yami said as he patted the tomb robber rather hard on the back.

Bakura just sneered at him, grabbed his luggage and looked the wall over. He could sense the magic inside the barrier….Bakura felt himself fall forward and he let out a squeal much like Ryou would have. Not a second after he picked himself up from the floor, the Pharaoh came through with a smirk wider than the long train that was in front of them.

"Not funny, Pharaoh," Bakura growled.

The rest of the witches and wizards began to come through the barrier now and the two spirits moved out of the way to give them more room. "I never knew you could squeal so loudly, Bakura," commented Yami right before he switched back with Yugi.

Harry walked onto the platform to see Bakura nearly strangling Yugi. "What happened," he asked, concerned. Ryou forced control and stepped away from his friend, straightening his clothing.

"Everything is," Ryou winced, "Fine now, no worries."

The group of students searched for an empty compartment on the train, only managing to find the one with the most space had one occupant: Neville Longbottom. "Hi, guys," he said, motioning to the empty chairs, "Would you like to join me?"

Hermione smiled and sat down next to Neville who smiled back. Ron followed suit and sat across from their fellow Gryffindor. Ryou and Yugi sat in the two seats next to Ron and Harry opposite them next to Hermione. Ginny had gone to find some of her friends from her grade.

"I'm Neville Lonbottom," the boy introduced himself to the new students. "I'm in the same house as these guys."

"I'm Yugi Mutou," Yugi said, "And this is Ryou Bakura. We're starting out as sixth years this year."

"Wow, you must have transferred then," said Neville.

Yugi and Ryou just nodded, not wanting to draw any attention to their lack of wizard magic experiences. "Hey, Harry," Yugi began, "Let's work on building a deck until we get to Hogwarts!" Harry nodded enthusiastically and pulled out his box of cards.

"I've been looking them all over just like you said and trying to find the right ones," Harry said pulling out some of the cards. "But I'm still a bit lost."

Ryou pulled out one of his newer books and started to read it where he had left off, hoping to finish it before they arrived at the castle. "So these plants," Ryou thought aloud, "Do they really attack people with blue eyes?"

Ron looked up, his blue eyes wide with fear. "There's a plant like that?!"

Hermione sighed, "We discussed it in third year. It's too bad I'm not taking that class anymore, sounds like an interesting lab."

"They're cool plants," Neville spoke up. "What other classes are you taking, Ryou?"

"Hmmm," Ryou looked at his school supplies list, "Defense, Potions, Charms, Divination…."

Hermione groaned. "Divination is such a joke," she said.

"Yeah," Ron laughed, "Hermione walked out of it in our third year! First and last time that's ever happened!" The red head was saved by the Slytherin as the compartment door opened to none other than Draco Malfoy and his goons.

"What's this Potty, playing muggle games. Can you not afford exploding snap?" drawled the blonde. "And Granger, I never knew you were sweet on Longbottom, I'm sure Weasley is completely jealous and revolted."

"Sod off, Malfoy," Ron glared at the slytherin.

"Careful, Weasley, you wouldn't want dear old daddy to have another accident, would you?" the blonde smirked and leaned against the door. "And who are the new freaks with you? Can't say we've met."

"Can't say I'd like to make your acquaintance," muttered Ryou darkly. Hermione looked at him suspiciously, before turning back to Malfoy.

The Slytherin, having realized who had spoken to him, scowled. "You think you're so tough," he said. "You just wait and see what it's like at the castle, you white haired loser."

Bakura's eyes flashed and Yami put a restraining arm on the tomb robber's shoulder. "Please leave us alone so we can enjoy the rest of the journey to Hogwarts."

"Who do you think you are?!"

"Get out, Malfoy!" Yelled Harry, frustrated that he had to deal with the slytherin.

"What, memories of your dear Godfather too…." Malfoy blinked for a moment becoming rigid.

Bakura hissed and pushed Harry's shoulder. Harry shook his head and Malfoy's body relaxed as he looked around in confusion. He scowled once more before leaving and motioning to his body guards to follow. Harry touched the Millennium Eye in his pocket; sure he had almost performed some form of Shadow Magic on the spoiled boy.

**LALALA**

Hogwarts Castle shone in the distance as the wizards and witch disembarked the Hogwarts Express. Yugi and Ryou left Harry and company to meet Hagrid, who would guide them across the lake with the first years. The two millennium item holders clambered into a boat and watched the water fly by them as they began the trek to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Gasps were heard as the castle came into view in its entire splendor. Yugi smiled and pointed to the various things around the castle. "There's the Whomping Willow that Harry was telling us about," he said to Ryou who nodded, pointed out the Forbidden Forest.

"Is Harry's deck building going well," he asked.

Yugi nodded, "I think so, we'll have to test it on you, you know."

Ryou laughed and shook his head, "We should test it on Bakura, he's a much better duelist than I am."

Yugi shook his head and smiled, "You haven't dueled in ages, what harm could it be to have a little fun. We can test it on both of you."

They entered the giant doors of the castle behind the group of first years, finding a stern witch waiting for the group. "Welcome to Hogwarts I am Professor McGonagall," she began. "When you step through these doors, you will be sorted into houses…."

Yugi and Ryou looked around them, hearing the rest of the student body behind the closed doors, assuming that was the Great Hall, where meals took place. "First years will be sorted first, and sixth years after them," ended the professor. She opened the large doors and the first years followed her into the dining hall. The children looked around in wonderment, taking in everything they could from the floating candles to the paintings and enchanted ceiling.

"Adams, Jacen," McGonagall called the first boy up and placed the sorting hat on his head. "Slytherin!" shouted the hat, the first new student of the night sorted into the house of snakes.

Yugi and Ryou waited patiently for all the first year students to be sorted. Their Yamis were another story, trying to figure out how the hat sorted you into your house and which of the minds in their hikaris' heads it would sort. After "Warren, Tanya" was sorted, the headmaster stood and the hall became silent.

"Now that the first years are sorted, I'd like to introduce two new sixth years to be sorted this year," he said with a smile and a nod at McGonagall.

"Bakura, Ryou," she said while Ryou curse his last name. He had to go through the barrier to 9 and ¾ first, too.

Ryou walked up to the short stool and sat down, his height giving him a bit of a disadvantage since the stool was fitted for first years. He scowled, knowing Yugi wouldn't have this problem. Suddenly, a big hat was dropped onto his head.

_-Two minds in one, eh?-_

::Who are you?:: Demanded Bakura.

_-The sorting hat of course. Now, which of you will I be sorting today?-_

:Me, please: responded Ryou. _:I'm Ryou and this is my Yami, Bakura.:_

::Just don't mess anything up, hat.:: Bakura growled.

_-Quite feisty, aren't you? Now, Ryou. Hmmm, you're quite loyal and intelligent. You're cunning, but I fear that is the cause of another influence. Yes, you would do anything for your friends, even putting yourself at risk….-_

Ryou listened as the hat continued to judge his character and place him in a house.

_-If we were to add on anything about your darker half, well, you'd still be pretty close to the same….-_

::The same?! What are you….::

-Better be….GRYFFINDOR!

Ryou blinked, dazed for a moment as the hat was taken off his head. _:That's not what I expected:_ Ryou said to his darker half who agreed with him.

"Mutou, Yugi," said the professor, smiling as the shorter boy had no problems with the stool height like his counterpart. Yugi smiled as the weight of the sorting hat was placed on his head, glad it didn't snag on his hair.

_-Ah, yes, two minds just like your friend.-_

/Hello there,/ said Yugi, mentally smiling and entering his soul room. He opened the door and in the hallway between his and Yami's soul rooms stood a middle aged wizard with brown hair and a beard. He wore older fashioned, medieval clothing and smiled when he saw Yugi.

_-You know, most people stay in their soul rooms and let me just talk to them.-_

Yami also appeared on the other end of the hallway. _//Welcome.//_he said.

_-My, this is a much nicer greeting than the last boy. Let's start my work, then, shall we? Very loyal, I can see friendship is very important to you. Hufflepuff would welcome you with open arms. Of course, there's the bravery, you've faced many battles.-_

Yugi smiled and nodded, waiting for the sorting hat to finish his job. He thought it amusing that another voice was added to his head at the moment.  
_-Bright, but not overly so like a Ravenclaw and your ambitions fall short. I'll have to say…._GRYFFINDOR!

Yugi smiled and jumped off the stool hurrying to sit next to Ryou.

"We're in the same house!" he exclaimed quietly.

The headmaster stood again and the hall became silent. "A few start of term reminders," he began. "There is a new and updated list of banned items on Mr. Filch's office door, please be sure to check it before you bring any of these items to school. And remember that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden to all students. I'd like to re-introduce a member of the staff. Professor Remus Lupin is back to teacher Defense against the Dark Arts, although he will be in tomorrow as tonight _is _the full moon," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. A few of the older students clapped and whooped, excited about the return of the werewolf. Many younger students were receiving stories of the teacher in his first year teaching at Hogwarts.  
"Now, let us enjoy the wonderful back to school feast," said the headmaster, who spread his arms and food appeared on all the plates in the Great Hall, accompanied by a unison gasp.

After the feast, the students went to their dormitories, waiting for the first day of school the next day. Some students worriedly worked on their homework, while others spent their last night of vacation playing games and catching up with friends. Yugi and Ryou went up to their dormitory and went to sleep, hoping they could remember enough for their first day of magical education.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It took me a few days to get this one out, but it was worth it, right? Thank you for the reviews last chapter (and the previous ones), I'm glad that you're enjoying the story.  
Speaking of stories, if you get bored of waiting for me to update and like twilight, my best friend is writing a new fic. Her screen name is nekotenshiemi. You should check it out!  
Hope to see you all next update and let me know what you think of the chapter! Sheesh, it's seven whole pages!  
Thanks for reading! See you next time!  
Maki-sama


	7. School Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or YuGiOh.

Reminders:

_/Yugi to Yami/  
//Yami to Yugi//  
:Ryou to Bakura:  
::Bakura to Ryou::  


* * *

_Breakfast was full of people who were rushing to eat and talk to their friends, many of the students looking exhausted from having stayed up too late. Ryou and Yugi continued to look around the Great Hall, taking in the details they missed the night before. The ceiling magically portrayed the gorgeous blue skies, not a cloud in sight, making the students wish that they had just one more day to enjoy the summer holidays. Ron frantically wrote on a piece of parchment while stuffing as many pieces of toast into his mouth as he could. Hermione scolded him for not finishing his homework and Harry was staring off into space, hoping he could get the two hikaris alone later to discuss what happened on the train the night before.  
Professor McGonagall walked by, handing them each a time table, also giving Ron a disapproving luck that nearly mirrored Hermione's. Yugi looked over his schedules, sighing in relief when he read it.

"Good classes today, Yugi?" asked Harry, who pushed his plate away, having finished his breakfast.

"Well, classes that I think I'll understand," Yugi said with a smile. "I've got Charms, then Runes and after that a break before double Potions."

Hermione smiled and compared schedules with the shorter boy, finding they had multiple classes together. She excitedly explained the wonders of Ancient Runes and Arithmancy to him and how knowledgeable all the professors were. Harry sighed and looked over his own schedule of charms, transfiguration, and potions. He was glad that he was in potions to continue his goal to become an auror. Students throughout the hall began to leave for class and the group followed them out, Ron lucky to have finished his summer Charms homework before classes had started.

Ryou and Yugi sat together in the charms classroom, Bakura taking temporary control to tease the shorter boy on finally finding someone his height in the form of Professor Flitwick. Ryou smiled apologetically, glad that the professor had not heard his darker half.

"Welcome to your sixth year of Charms," Professor Flitwick squeaked out in his high pitched voice. "I trust you have all received a syllabus? Good, now first we'll start with a small review. Partner up and practice cheering charms, I'm sure you'll all need one your first day," the tiny professor smiled and a few students laughed. Yugi and Ryou stood up to try and find an area to practice, although they had no idea what the incantation was.

"Mr. Mutou and Bakura," Professor Flitwick quickly made his way towards them. "I hear you were able to study the theory behind each of your subjects, but hadn't the chance to practice." Ryou and Yugi nodded, trying to ignore the occasional stare from students in the area. "Don't worry; we'll get you up to speed very quickly." The professor handed the each of them a list of charms, "I want you to try and learn at least three of these per week if you can. I know it's a lot and you'll have other classes, but it's the quickest way to know all the spells that they know. The first two weeks we'll be reviewing, so you have some time to learn a lot of the easier ones." He placed a feather in each of their hands and went to help other students.

Ryou looked at the top of the list to see a levitation spell, assuming they were supposed to practice levitating the feathers. Both boys put their feathers on the desk where they had sat before and practiced the wand movements.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Ryou said and nothing happened. The feather sat there looking pitiful.

Yugi smiled and tried the spell, his feather twitching slightly upward, only to have his face form a cocky smirk as the Pharaoh took control. "It seems my hikari has beaten yours in Charms so far, Thief."

Bakura glared at him. "What use is levitating a feather, Pharaoh? Ryou will destroy little Yugi during potions for sure."

"All right, then. Let's play a game," Yami crossed his arms, "Which ever of our hikaris does better in the most classes wins."

"What do I get once Ryou beats Yugi in all subjects," Bakura asked, grinning sadistically.

"Winner gets one favor from the loser. Once I win, you'll be doing whatever I want you to do."

"Once, Pharaoh," Bakura twirled Ryou's wand, "One favor, all right. You'll regret what I'll ask of you." Ryou blinked and looked at Yugi, who was also back in control. "Did they just bet on us?"

"It seems our Yamis are bored," Yugi smiled and turned back to his feather.

_//Time to win, Yugi! We'll beat that Tomb Robber!//_

/Yami, why do you have to fight with him so much?/ Yugi sighed and tried again, his feather still twitching.

Ryou looked over the instructions one more time, "Wingardium Leviosa," he said and the feather sailed into the air, floating a few feet off the desk.  
"Hey, how did you do that?" Yugi asked, looking at the instructions.

Ryou smiled at him, "We were saying it wrong." Yugi couldn't help but shiver when a dark gleam entered his friend's eyes.

**LALALA**

After class the group split up, Harry and Ron had a free period while Hermione and Yugi had Ancient Runes. Ryou looked at his schedules, realizing none of the others were in divination with him.

_:Do you think it really is a joke class, Bakura?:_

::Of course, not Ryou! The Seers in my time knew what they were talking about, and look at Isis Ishtar!::

Ryou nodded and found his way to the classroom by following a duo of giggling girls in his year. __

::Good job destroying your friend in charms, Ryou.:: Bakura said and Ryou could feel the satisfaction in his voice. _::We'll beat that Pharaoh once and for all!::_

:I really don't understand why you're always fighting with him. You two could be good friends.:

::Hah! I will never befriend that pompous king!::

Ryou shook his head and climbed the ladder to the classroom. It was stuffy and messy, not a good atmosphere for predicting the future, in Ryou's opinion.

_:Yami, what will you make the Pharaoh do if you win?:_

::Simple, whenever I need something I'll just make him do it….no matter what it is.::

Ryou sat down at a circle table on a poofy, purple floor cushion. The giggling girls sat at his table, giving him flirty eyes which he tried to ignore. He also chose to not comment on his growling and over protective Yami.

"Welcome to Divination," Professor Trelawney glided out of her chair into the front of the class room. "I sense a this will be a thrilling year for you all!"

**LALALA**

Yugi looked at the page of ancient runes in front of him, trying to make sense of them. He thought the class may be easier especially with his Yami's help, but since the Pharaoh didn't remember anything of his past he wasn't sure if he had ever been able to read them.

_//I am sorry, Yugi.//_

Yugi just smiled and set to work. Even though he was sure Ryou didn't care about the bet their yamis had made, he felt a little inadequate after the white haired teen had managed to levitate the feather first. His friend had even managed to learn another spell that class period before Yugi could master the levitation charm. __

/I'm sorry, Yami. I hope you don't lose your bet with Bakura because of me./

//Do not worry, hikari, you'll do fine in all other subjects, let the Thief have his fun for now. I know you can do it.//

Yugi smiled and began to translate his runes, hoping to finish what he could of this work in class. It seemed there would be a lot of reviewing this first week of classes. Hermione made sure he was doing all right half way through the lesson and encouraged him to keep working.

"You're doing great!" she exclaimed, "You really have a knack for these things, don't you?"

Yugi smiled, his competitive nature returning. He would make sure his Yami won the bet against Bakura!

**LALALA**

Transfiguration went well; Ryou had difficulties with it, his quill not quite turning into a featherless needle. Harry assured him that it took him some time to transfigure new things as well and that it would come. Professor McGonagall told him to come to her if he needed any help with practicing before class let out.

The group met up again in Potions besides Ron who went to Care of Magical Creatures since he hadn't been able to get a high enough OWL to continue the class. Professor Snape made his usual grand entrance.

"Reviews are meaningless in this class," he said sternly, "You either can adequately brew a potion or not. I suggest that if you cannot, you leave and not waste my time," the sneering Professor waved his wand at the chalk board, "There are your instructions, begin."

The relatively small class scrambled to the ingredients cabinet to collect their ingredients. After having obtained the best that they could, Ryou and Yugi went back to their station and set up their cauldrons over the flame.

"Good luck, Ryou," said Yugi with a smile and the white haired teen realized his shorter friend was now in on the bet with their Yamis.

"You, too, Yugi," Ryou said and started to prepare ingredients as the book instructed.

The class progressed in silence, with a cauldron bubbling over halfway through the lesson.

"You fool!" Snape had shouted as he banished the potion and sent the hufflepuff student to the sink to wash the liquid thoroughly from his hands. He stalked around the room after that, trying to find any fault, pausing to take points off of Harry and forcing the boy to chop his roots again. He ignored Hermione's potion and moved on to Yugi and Ryou's station, watching them for a moment as they prepared and added ingredients, each trying to outdo the other.

At the end of the class, he once again went around the room, checking each potion as he went. "Well done, Mr. Malfoy," he said, though it was obvious the boy's potion wasn't even near perfect. Yugi and Ryou both looked at their potions that were the exact shade of blue that they needed to be.

Professor Snape once again insulted Harry and a few more students from other houses. He looked at Hermione's potion without comment and moved onto their table. He stirred Yugi's potion once and scowled, "Too thin, Mr. Mutou," he said and turned to looked at Ryou's. He also gave the stirring rod one clockwise whip and nodded his head, "Adequate."

"Put a sample of your potion on my desk and label it," the Professor said as a dismissal and made his way briskly to his desk to await their samples.

The group quickly turned in their potion samples and cleaned up their cauldrons before heading to dinner. Ron was there, waiting for them. "How was potions, you guys?" he asked, nursing a burn.

"It was pretty good, I only lost 30 points today," said Harry, grinning.

Hermione sighed, "It's a shame that we lost points on our first day."

"Yes, well Ryou gained points for us in Divination," said one of the giggly girls as she sat next to the boy. Ryou sighed and began to fill his plate with food, hoping that if he ignored the girl she would go away. Of course, her friend was sitting across from her and giving Ron wishful glances.

Yugi and Ryou talked about their first day to each other and what they thought of their classes, glad to finally be able to relax.

"I'm surprised we didn't receive too much homework," said Hermione buttering a roll, "Yugi and I have runes to translate, but that's it."

Ron grinned goofily, "I'm happy to not have homework tonight!"

Ryou nodded and let out a frustrated breath of air as the girl next to him tried to get him to talk to her. Really, couldn't she see that she was irritating him? Yugi gave him an understanding look as the boy next to him had finally discovered that Yugi was the best duelist in the world.

"I'm Parvati," she said. "We're in divination together, remember?"

Ryou nodded and continued to eat his food, ignoring her to the best of his ability. "You know, if you need any help with the class, I'd be willing to tutor you."

Harry saw a small flash of light as Bakura took control of Ryou's body. He draped his arm around Yugi who looked at the spirit in confusion. "Of course," he replied in a soft voice, "But you'll have to let me bring Yugi with," he said as he pinched the shorter boys cheek. Parvati's eyes grew wide and she went back to her meal, not trying to speak to the boy again. Bakura smirked and picked up his fork ignoring the strange looks people were shooting his way.

"You're so strange sometimes, Ryou," Hermione said, serving herself some dessert. Bakura just shrugged, not letting his embarrassed hikari take control.

**LALALA**

"Really funny, Bakura," Yami snapped at the thief when they got to their dorm room, making sure no one had followed them. "Using my hikari for personal gain!"

"She was bothering us," said Bakura with an air of superiority. "It seemed the best plan to stop her."

"Why didn't you just ask her to stop," asked Yami and he sat down on Yugi's bed, separating as a spirit. Yugi smiled and put his school bag on the ground near his things. Bakura also separated to find a glowering Ryou.

"Yugi, I'm sorry for my Yami's behavior," he said and sat down with a huff. "I was doing fine ignoring her."

"Yes, but she bothered you throughout that whole class earlier and you were quite clear that you didn't want to converse, yet she still insisted."

The door opened and Harry walked in. "You know, I wonder if you might lock this door when talking," he said. "I was thinking….what if, because of the magic, others could see you in spirit form?" The wizard locked the door and sat on his bed.

"Good observation, Harry," said Yami who was sitting next to his hikari. "You said you wanted to talk to all of us?"

"Yeah," Harry began, "On the train the other day…."

"Yes, it was your shadow powers," said Bakura. "They've manifested faster than we thought."

"We'll have to begin lessons soon, but how without causing suspicion?"

"We could plan for him to meet with you and Bakura separately, Yami," Ryou said. "That way it will be like Harry is not just hanging out with us and ignoring everyone else, but perhaps giving us help with our homework or studying together."

Yugi nodded, "That's a good plan, we should start pretty soon, too."

"Just curious, but what was going to happen to Malfoy if you hadn't stopped me."

"His soul would probably be lost in the shadows," Bakura said and Harry swallowed.

**LALALA**

"What do you mean, he is no longer in a coma and is now at Hogwarts," Voldemort snapped at the death eater that had reported this. "Find out more about what happened to him this summer!" The death eater bowed and speed walked his way out of the room, glad that he hadn't been punished being the bearer of bad news.

"How did he escape," Voldemort demanded of his teacher who stood in the shadows. "You said he would be devoured."

"It appears that the Pharaoh and Thief have joined forces," was the reply, "We must act quickly to catch them off guard and destroy this boy of yours as well as them."

Voldemort nodded and pulled a deck of cards to him. "Shall we begin?"  


* * *

There is the next chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! I'm sorry it took so long, but I've been busy with school. We had our first concert! I'm not very good at violin, but that could be because I'm a trombonist, haha. Tell me what you think and I'll try to update as soon as I can!!!  
Thanks for reading.

Maki-sama


	8. Kuriboh to the rescue

Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh or Harry Potter.  


* * *

"Dark Magician, attack his life points directly!" Yugi exclaimed and Harry hung his head in defeat.

"I'm never going to be any good at this game, am I?"

Yugi just laughed and collected his deck. They were in the room of requirement; practicing Harry's dueling skills and trying to focus his mind for a shadow magic lesson. Lessons had started a few weeks ago, scheduled for four days a week after dinner. Harry spent Monday and Wednesday with Yami and Yugi, occasionally they met in the library, pretending to study for a while before heading up to the secret room. Thursdays and Saturdays were spent with Bakura and Ryou usually with the same guidelines for meeting. Harry was able to duel much better than when the rules were first explained, but he still wasn't able to defeat his new friends, their Yami's won every time in just a short amount of turns, although Bakura occasionally played with the young wizard and novice duelist.

"You're doing much better than Joey did when he started," Yugi said, referring to a friend Harry had heard a lot about through his dueling lessons. Yugi put his deck back into his bag, keeping out the dark magician. "Now, let's see if you can summon a monster today," he smiled.

Harry nodded and pulled the Lizard Soldier from his deck before following Yugi's example and setting the rest of his cards in his bag.

"What are the steps we explained," Yugi asked his voice much lower.

Harry greeted Yami, "First I need to focus on my shadow magic, and feeling only the presence of the duel monster. After I've quieted my mind and found him, I call him to this realm."  
Yami nodded, "Good, now start!"

Harry nodded and closed his eyes; he focused on trying to empty his mind brushing away the memories from his occlumency lessons with Snape. He felt for the core of his shadow magic, reaching deep inside himself until the warmth filled him. "Lizard soldier," he said after a moment of meditation. He opened his eyes and sighed, "I'll never get this right, will I?"

"You're doing much better at emptying your mind and focusing on your shadow powers, Harry," Yami said. "Give it time to grow and become a part of you. Remember to always trust in the…."

"Heart of the cards," Bakura said smartly, coming out of the shadows of the room of requirement. "You're still preaching the same thing, aren't you pharaoh?"

"Bakura! You're not supposed to be here!" Yami scolded him. "Your job is to make sure no one gets suspicious of our whereabouts and not let them search for us!"

"Why are you here, Bakura?" Harry asked, setting his card down.

"I see, none of you want me here," the spirit crosses his arms before joining them on the chairs surrounding the dueling table. "I wanted to see if it was possible to break into this room to test our 'secure' location. Obviously I could break in easily and undetected."

"You used the shadow realm that's cheating," Yugi said as Yami separated from him in spirit form.

"I'm sure Voldemort can use the shadows as well. If not now, then he'll learn. We should be prepared for anything!"

Harry nodded and Yami rolled his eyes, "Of course, thief."

"Honestly, Pharaoh, haven't you felt the disturbance? Something is here."

Yami nodded, "I did feel it, do you know what it is?"

The thief shook his head, "We should go find out. Harry, put on your cloak and come with us, I think it's outside."

**LALALA**

The three Hogwarts students snuck outside of the castle. They stopped momentarily and Bakura tried to figure out where to go. The pulsation of shadow energy came from the forbidden forest, so it was decided that they would find out what it was and decide then to deal with it or not.

The trees felt darker than normal, and Harry tried to pull his invisibility cloak tighter around himself as he followed the other two and more experienced item holders. They walked for quite some time, before reaching a wide clearing with a small stream flowing through it. Bakura stopped.

"What is it," asked Yami and Harry removed his invisibility cloak to see more clearly.

"It's here," Bakura replied as a creature approached from the shadows of the forest.

"I am on orders to challenge Harry Potter," said the monster.

"You'll have to face all of us!" exclaimed Yami, standing protectively in front of the young wizard.

"Only Harry Potter," it said and gestured grandly with its arm, sending Bakura and Yami towards the trees, binding them.

"How did you do that?!" Bakura yelled, struggling against his bonds, trying with his shadow magic to escape.

"Shadow magic fused with wizard magic makes an interesting spell. I was simply told what to do and it would be done," the creature became visible now, gaining on Harry. She was a woman, with what appeared to be a third eye on her forehead. Her black dress robes billowed behind her and she stopped in the middle of the clearing, only a few feet in front of Harry, her dark purple hair blowing in the wind.

"You're the Witch of the Black Forest!" Yami said, "Why are you doing this? Who are you following? Who are you bonded to?"

"Why ask when you already know," asked the witch, her eyes never leaving Harry, taking in all she could from his messy hair, to his scar, and to his shabby hand-me-downs from Dudley.

"What do you mean 'already know'," Yami demanded.

"Isn't it obvious, Yami," Bakura growled, "She's bonded to Voldemort and here to do his bidding!"

The dark witch smirked, "I'm here to challenge you to a shadow game, Mr. Potter. It would be wise of you to accept."  
Harry swallowed, unsure what to do. He was sure the witch knew some other spells it he started to run, and he wasn't sure what curse was on the other two item holders. On the other hand, they needed to finish this and get back to the castle soon; the sun would be rising in the next hour or so.

"I accept," he said confidently.

"Harry, you don't have to do this!" Yami yelled.

"I do, though. You're stuck and I can't think of any counter curses without knowing the original spell. Plus, it's combined with shadow magic, so I'm not sure of the effect that will have on it," Harry smiled at his two friends. "I'll be fine."

**LALALA  
**  
The shadows surrounded the two players of the game and Harry took a deep breath, knowing he'd be alone in the shadow realm with the witch. This was only his second shadow game, and he wasn't sure what the rules and stakes would be. Surely Voldemort wouldn't risk him dying as the dark wizard wanted to kill him himself. As the last trees of the forbidden forest disappeared from sight, Harry squared his shoulders and looked at the witch.

"This game will be simple," she said. "You have to simply defeat me with another duel monster and you win. If not your soul will be banished to the shadow realm to wander in punishment for eternity!"

Harry nodded, "Let's begin then!"

The witch simply crossed her arms and waited. The dark lord's plan was simple, he doubted Harry had learned much about shadow magic, if anything, and was sure the boy could not summon a creature from his deck. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the boy pull a duel monster card from his deck.

"I summon, Lizard Soldier!" he declared after a moment of hesitation. For a moment shadow magic swirled around the young wizard and she thought he had summoned the lizard creature.

Harry saw the wind pick up around him and he smiled, waiting for his monster to appear. As it slowed down a creature stood, or rather floated, before him, but it was not Lizard Soldier.

"Kuriboh?! You summon Kuriboh to try and defeat me!" the Witch of the Black Forest laughed.

Harry just blinked, glad he had managed to summon a monster, but disappointed it had been the wrong one. Then he remembered the shadow game as his opponent blasted the poor creature with her own powers. He nearly screamed when the tiny Kuriboh let out a high pitched shriek as it was destroyed.

"You've lost the shadow game, Mr. Potter," she said, her hand outstretched from her attack. Crossing her arms again, a smirk formed on her face. "Enjoy your stay in the shadow realm!"

Harry jumped as the shadows began to wind around his legs, pulling him to them. He struggled to escape as the witch and victor continued to laugh chillingly, causing his heart to beat faster and faster. Would Bakura and Yami be able to rescue him from the shadows again, or was he truly lost to them? Harry screamed as the shadows pulled him further towards his doom. The shout lasted only a second as the tendrils of darkness covered his mouth and completely took him.

**LALALA**

Yami and Bakura were freed from their bindings as the shadows dissipated, signaling the end of the shadow game. The last of the shadows disappeared leaving an unconscious and soulless Harry and a smug witch.

"No," Yami said, staring at Harry.

"Next time teach him to summon something a little stronger than Kuriboh," the witch cackled and disappeared.

"We need to go save him, but the forest isn't a place to leave his body while we go to the shadow realm," Yami said after rushing over to his friend.

"We should bring him back to the school," Bakura replied.

"Or you could explain why you three Gryffindors are out way past curfew and in the forbidden forest, no less?" asked a cold voice and the two item holders turned around to see Professor Snape standing right behind them.

"Professor, we can explain…."

"No explanations necessary, Mr. Mutou," the professor sneered, "I can see you were dueling Mr. Potter and two against one doesn't seem very fair, now does it. A week's worth of detention each and fifty points from Gryffindor. Yes, Mr. Potter will serve the detentions as well when he is recovered."

The professor levitated Harry onto a stretcher and made sure the boys walked in front of him as they neared the castle, the sun rising in the distance, over the tree tops.

* * *

  
I'm really sorry for the long delay! Midterms took over about a week and a half of my time and then my arthritis started to act up! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one won't take nearly as long since I'm not so busy anymore.  
Thanks for reading!

Maki-sama


	9. Secrets Revealed

Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh or Harry Potter.

Reminders:  
_:Ryou to Bakura:  
::Bakura to Ryou::  
/Yugi to Yami/  
//Yami to Yugi//  
_

_

* * *

_The trees didn't blow and the birds refused to sing. The sky was pitch black with purple clouds making the occasional appearance. Harry walked around the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a daze. He could have sworn he had class at this time since no one was outside of the castle, but he had woken up near the lake. Random shouts of laughter would reach his ears from what he assumed to be an open window or the quidditch pitch. Harry shrugged as another joyful voice brush past his ears and continued on to the castle. If he was supposed to be in class, he might as well find out which and when it had started before he got a detention.

The doors to the castle opened easily and he walked into the entrance hall, hearing voices from the great hall. His stomach grumbled in hunger and he smiled, grateful that it was a meal time he was late for instead of class. He made his way to the dining area and opened the doors, finding it full of students. Smiling, Harry spotted his two best friends and went to sit by them in the empty place they had saved.

"Hi, Ron, Hermione," he said with a smile.

The two simply ignored him as though they hadn't heard a word he said. Harry shrugged, noticing they were arguing and began to pile food onto his plate. He picked up his fork and scooped up some potatoes. At least, he tried to scoop them. The fork went right through the food. Harry, not wanting to give up, tried multiple forks and utensils, each resulting the same way. Ron leaned over to pick up seconds of the potatoes, reaching his hand through Harry's body. The wizard's eyes widened and he jumped up from the bench.

"Hermione," he looked at his female friend. Once again she didn't hear him. He called multiple names, even attempted to get Neville's attention by poking him on the shoulder. "Can no one see or hear me," he asked aloud. Looking around the great hall, Harry's eyes rested on the headmaster, also oblivious to his presence. Had he died?

**LALALA**

Yugi and Ryou made their way to Professor Snape's classroom for their first detention, both irritated by their Yamis' carelessness.

"You'd think they would at least be smart enough to not get caught, Bakura was a thief," Yugi said and Ryou nodded agreeing with the shorter boy. He knocked on the door and they both entered when given the vocal cue.

Professor Snape looked up from his grading and pointed at a decent pile of dirty cauldrons in the corner. "You are to clean those without the use of magic until I allow you to leave," he said. "You will find brushes and soap in the cabinet, no talking."

Yugi and Ryou sighed and went to collect the necessary tools before beginning their task, it was already looking to be a long night.

_:I hope you're happy, Bakura: _Ryou sent to his yami.

_::I need to speak with the Pharaoh later, I think I figured something out.::_

_:You'll be lucky if I let you take control at all!:_

_::Ryou, this is important, it's about Harry!::_

_:I still can't believe you let him enter a shadow game alone: _Ryou viscously scrubbed his cauldron as Bakura sighed.  
_  
::There was no choice, he accepted it.::  
_  
The detention ended not soon enough for the exhausted teenagers. Professor Snape informed them that any cauldrons they were unable to clean or he deemed still filthy would be cleaned the next night. Yugi and Ryou left the classroom, their spirits down as well as exhausted. It took all their effort to climb up to the Gryffindor common room.

"Phoenix," Yugi said and the portrait opened for them. They started towards the stairs to the dormitory until they were intercepted by Hermione.

"I heard you were with Harry when he got hurt last night," she said with her arms crossed and an angry expression on her face. "What happened?" It was a demand rather than a question.

"We…" Ryou looked uncertainly at Yugi, who looked as lost and confused as he did. The millennium ring flashed dully underneath Ryou's robes, a light caught only by Yugi who was used to its glow.

"We don't have a way out of this one, Yugi," Bakura said, Hermione realizing the differences in his appearance and voice.

"Hey, you…." She stared at him, speechless.

"Collect Ron," Yami said and Hermione jumped at the deeper voice, "We'll explain everything, but it must be in private."

Hermione nodded and ran off to find Ron.

**LALALA**

The group met in the Room of requirement, the sanctuary becoming a comfortable sitting area with cushioned chairs and a warm fire. The room was decorated in neutral colors, hopefully to calm the mood once Yugi and Ryou let out their biggest secret.

Ron and Hermione sat across from the item holders. Ron looked confused while Hermione seemed to be trying to figure everything out by staring intently at them.

"Let's start at the beginning," Yami said and the two leaned closer. "We met Harry this summer when he was attacked by Voldemort," Ron flinched at the name.

"How did you meet him this summer?" asked Hermione, "He wasn't even at the Dursley's long."

"When Voldemort, stop flinching you fool," Bakura snarled at Ron whose face turned a bright red. "When Voldemort met him in Diagon Alley, he was playing a shadow game with him. The loser lost his soul."

"But then how did he…" Yami stopped the question before Hermione could finish.

"His soul was sent to the shadow realm and we were informed he was a new item holder."

"Items?" asked Ron, unable to look at Bakura.

"Yes, Millennium Items," said Yami as he indicated his puzzle. "Seven Items of great power created by the ancient Egyptians; The puzzle, ring, eye, key, scales, necklace, and rod."

"I think I've read about those," Hermione said. "They helped a pharaoh seal away great evil."

Yami nodded and Bakura sighed.

"Inside two of the items are two spirits from the time of that pharaoh," Yami said.

"And you two have the items with the spirits," Hermione nodded, "That explains the changes of appearance and voice."

Ron looked at her, "You're mental, there's nothing different about them. Look, Ryou doesn't even have an item."

Bakura sent the red head a glare and the millennium ring flashed to life and appeared around his neck. The teen swallowed and edged further away from the angry spirit. "Be careful, Weasley, I was a vicious thief in my time and have killed and stolen souls for a living." Ron paled.

"Bakura," Yami said in warning, "We're trying to explain about Harry."

"So Yugi and Ryou are like yours hosts," Hermione said, "And you can take control of their bodies, right?"

"Yes, but it's more of a partnership," Yami smiled fondly. "As we were saying, we found out that Harry was to be the new holder of the millennium eye and that he was in the shadow realm. We simply went to the shadow realm, found him, and helped him find his way out."

"We were going to do that this time, but Snape found us in the forest before we could," Bakura crossed his arms.

"Voldemort sent a spirit monster to play a shadow game with Harry," Yami pulled out his duel monsters deck to show them. "Harry accepted the challenge and lost."

"Him and his hero streak," said Ron, leafing through the deck. "Can you teach us how to play?" he asked.

"When will you be able to help him?" asked Hermione, worried.

"We will as soon as we can," Bakura said.

**LALALA**

After Hermione and Ron went to their dormitories, Bakura held Yami back.

"Pharaoh," he said, "I think I know why Harry is having problems with his shadow powers and summoning even the easiest monsters correctly."

"You do?" Yami looked surprised.

"Yes, but I don't think he's going to like it."

* * *

And that's the end. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; sorry it took a bit of time. I have a Saturday class that's 8 hours long and completely exhausts me so I tend to take any extra time to sleep.  
I'll try and update quicker this time! Thanks for reading and for the reviews!

Maki-sama


	10. Shadow Realm

Sorry it's taken so long, everyone. Hopefully you haven't all forgotten what's happened in the story!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or YuGiOh.

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Harry wandered mindlessly around the halls of Hogwarts. He had tried to sleep in the tower and although he was exhausted, sleep eluded the wizard. He couldn't lift the books in the library or grip his firebolt. The house elves in the kitchen ignored him as much as anyone else in the castle and he even managed to walk passed Professor Snape unnoticed without even trying.

"Maybe I should go to Hogsmeade," he said aloud to no one, "They might be able to see me. Who knows, maybe I could eat." Harry shook his head and left the castle.

The yard was still and quiet without a sound from any wild creatures within the forest or in the lake. The sky moved with a shadowy aura, giving off a feeling of complete darkness.

Nevertheless, Harry moved with a purpose and began the trek to the Wizarding village not far from his school. If no one inside the castle could see or touch him, perhaps he was safe from any magical creatures.

**LALALA**

"Insert the eye….into his head…." Yami rubbed his eyes and sighed. "No, I don't think he'll like that one bit. Even so, we'd need to wait until he's out of the shadow realm and Snape has us in detention for another two nights."

Bakura's eye twitched as a low growl escaped his throat, "What if we just separate in spirit form and then enter the shadow realm? Ryou and Yugi can handle the detention while we rescue Harry all pomp and circumstance."

"You know that won't work," Yami said as he sat down on the couch.

"One can dream, right?"

"I hope he can handle the rest of the week. I'm too exhausted to enter the shadow realm after those detentions and Yugi needs a decent amount of sleep."

"Perhaps if we just insert his eye while he's in the hospital wing! Then he may be able to find his own way out of the shadows," Bakura's eyes glinted with a dark glee.

"No, no, and no. He deserves a choice, Bakura."

"Oh come on, you think Pegasus had a choice when he received the eye? He'll get over--- "

"I'm sorry," Ryou smiled, "I'm afraid it's late and Bakura's mind is wandering too much for his own good. Time for bed; Harry is brave enough and strong, he can survive the shadows." The boy's eyes were unfocused as he remembered the past, "I've survived longer….I know he can."

Yami nodded and the two item holders got ready for the night.

**LALALA**

A rustling to his right stopped Harry in his tracks. "He can't hurt me, he can't hurt me, he can't hurt me…." He chanted under his breath.

A wolf edged out of the trees and walked towards him. It stopped and sniffed at the wizard's feet. Harry stayed frozen and prayed to any god above that the wolf would leave him alone. Obviously this creature knew he was there and Harry could only assume it was a werewolf!

As the creature started to move on, uninterested in the boy wizard, another creature appeared making the wolf tense. She had blue skin and long brown hair walking with a sort of ethereal air. She paused and assumed a defense stance when her eyes fell onto the wolf.

Harry watched as the wolf pounced on her and she yelled, only to have the wolf run off as though there was no way he could defeat her. He sighed, relieved that it was gone and then refroze as the blue girl grasped his chin and moved his head to the right then the left.

"You're a strange creature," she said in her light voice, "almost like a human."

"I-I-I am a human," Harry stuttered, hoping this girl wouldn't break his neck.

"Hmmm," she looked him over pensively, "Then why are you here?"

"I'm a student at Hogwarts," he said pointing to the castle.

"At where?" she asked looking behind him. "There isn't a school behind you."

Harry turned his head quickly, pulling out of her grip. His eyes widened, "It was just there, where did it…."

"You don't know where you are?" Harry shook his head in response. "This is the shadow realm….surely you remember playing a shadow game…."

Harry turned back to her, taking in her features and trying to understand. Shadow realm, where had he heard that term before? Comprehension dawned, "You're the mystical elf and that….that was silver fang."

The elf smiled and curtsied. "I am. And you are an item bearer, correct."

Harry nodded, finally understanding why his mind felt so fragmented.

"It's understandable that you were confused. Humans have a difficult time keeping their minds here. If only you knew the white haired item bearer, he's been here more times than I can even count," she chuckled.

"White haired….you mean Bakura?"

"No, no, the other one," she smiled. "He's much sweeter."

Harry nodded, "Yes, Ryou goes to my school now. Are you two good friends?"

"Perhaps…."

**LALALA**

"Finally!" Yugi exclaimed as he and his friend left the potions classroom that Friday night. "We're finally finished with detention."

"And tomorrow's a Saturday, so we can sleep in!" Ryou smiled, taking a much needed sigh of relief.

"Yami asked if you would be all right with rescuing Harry tonight," Yugi asked while they walked towards Gryffindor tower.

"Yes, that's fine. We can sleep for most of the day tomorrow. I just hope they don't get caught again."

"We can find an abandoned class room after we check into the dorm with our bags. That way we won't be disturbed. Hermione and Ron could keep watch for us," Yami said, taking control of Yugi's body. "It's been so long, he won't be in the same spot in the Shadow realm, so we should enter from another spot."

"Phoenix," Ryou relayed the password to the fat lady.

"Yugi, Ryou!" Hermione shouted and ran over to them. "I heard that if Harry doesn't wake up soon they'll transfer him to St. Mungo's!" She looked flustered.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll wakeup soon," Ryou said and led her away to the boy's dormitory. When the door was shut and locked he turned back to her.

"We're going to need your help and Ron's," Bakura said while the girl jumped at the sudden switch. "It's still half an hour to curfew so it won't be strange if we….go to the library," he said with a smirk.

"Yes, I'll tell Ron that we're meeting you there," she nodded, understanding and ran off to find the red head. The two boys dropped their bags and left for the library.

When they arrived, Hermione and Ron were already waiting. Yami made sure no one was watching before they began moving down an empty hall way.

"We're going to bring him back, hopefully it won't take too long, but your jobs will be to make sure no one will disturb us."

Hermione nodded, "I brought the map, so it'll be easy to see if we'll be found out."

"Map?" asked Bakura. "You have a way of finding out who is where in this school?"

Yami found a classroom and they all filed in. "Yes, it's the Marauder's Map. It was Harry's father's when he was in school, they created it," she cleared her throat, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The paper she was holding slowly began to form a map of Hogwarts.

"That's a strange thing to come out of your mouth, Hermione," Ron said while he set up chairs with Yami.

"Interesting," Bakura said, grabbing the map from Hermione who 'hmphed' at him. "Why, you can even see the headmaster and all these different passage ways. I wonder….if one can add on if they are to find more secrets of this school…."

"Not now, thief. Time to save Harry," Yami pushed him into a chair and gave the map to Hermione.

"You spoil all my fun, Pharaoh," he crossed his arms and entered the shadow realm before Yami followed him.

**LALALA**

Bakura's ring was already working on locating Harry when Yami appeared next to him. "You're more into this the second time around, Bakura," he observed.

"I want to see that map, now come on," he pulled the king in the direction his ring pointed. "I don't think he's too far…."

Laughter reached their ears as they neared a small cave. Yami entered first and stopped. "Harry, you're all right."

"Oh, hey, Yami and Bakura," he said. "I am now, thanks to the mystical elf."

"Bakura, you're here," said the elf, "Where is your other half?"

Bakura shook his head and dropped the now lifeless ring back against his chest, "Not here."

"Well, we're ready to get you out of here, Harry," Yami said. "It's been quite a long time and they're thinking of moving your body to St. Mungo's."

"St. Mungo's?!" Harry jumped up. "I'm ready whenever you are," he turned to the elf, "Thank you for your help."

"Anytime, young Harry," she smiled. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime. Say 'hi' to Ryou for me."

Yami concentrated and brought himself and Harry out of the Shadow realm, he opened his eyes and saw Ron and Hermione closely keeping an eye on the map. Bakura was quick to leave the shadows as well.

"We're back," he said and the two teens jumped as the thief smirked.

"So he'll be waking up now," Hermione asked with a smile.

"Yep," Yugi said as he jumped up, "Too bad it's past curfew, otherwise we'd be able to visit him!"

"We'll go in the morning," Ron yawned. "Either way, Madame Pomphrey will want to keep him overnight."

"True," Hermione said. "We better get back to the tower before anyone comes into this hall. Professor Snape was lurking earlier."

"What time is it?" asked Yugi.

"It's around 3 a.m." Ron replied as they group left the classroom.

"Oh, Ryou," Yugi smiled, "Yami says the Mystical Elf said hello. I didn't know you had her in your deck."

"I don't…."

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And there's another chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. I'm certainly glad that Harry is back.  
See you next update.  
Maki-sama


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